The Pear Blossom
by Psychotic Deity
Summary: Kaiba had always thought that friendships were useless. KaibaxOC platonic.
1. Chapter 1

It was an ordinary and boring day in Domino City. Kaiba sat, impeccable posture as always, in the backseat of a black Cadillac on his way to Domino High School. Not his usual mode of transportation, but a few unexpected...misfortunes occurred and at least he had a backup. He turned the worn page of his book, a green hardback with the gilded letters, "Also Sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle and Keinen" on the front. It was a German copy; he was using it to brush up on his German a little, as he had a meeting with a German client at the end of the week.

"Hey, nii-sama," the chipper voice of his little brother Mokuba interrupted his reading of nihilism. Kaiba didn't get to hear the rest of what Mokuba was going to say; the car suddenly lurched forward with the brakes squealing horribly. There was a slight thump near the front of the car, near the hood. The car stopped and the chauffeur turned.

"K-K-Kaiba-sama! My most sincere apologies! There was…I couldn't…She came out so fast, and I saw too late… The walk signal wasn't on! It was a green light!" The chauffeur's face was pale and sweaty. He wiped his brow and wrung his hands apprehensively as Mokuba opened the door and dashed outside.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba called as he followed suit, visions of lawsuits and attorneys and depreciating company reputation dancing around in his head.

The hood of the car was noticeably dented and the glass of the windshield had spidery cracks, but nothing too terrible. The car had braked at an intersection which was thankfully fairly empty at the moment, save for a few faraway onlookers. Mokuba had already knelt down to tend to the body laying near the car. "Nee-san, are you alright?" he asked, patting the victim's shoulder gently. Kaiba walked nearer to Mokuba and knelt down also.

A girl lay on the concrete, her long black hair veiling her face and her back facing them. Kaiba noticed her pleated blue skirt and pink blazer, the uniform of the girls at his school. A kaban bag lay a few feet away from the girl. Her arms huddled protectively around something. Mokuba gently rolled the older girl over and pried her arms apart. She resisted slightly, but then relaxed her grip.

"Nii-sama…" Mokuba's voice trailed off. A small girl, about elementary school age, with long pink pigtails, had her face buried into the chest of the older girl. Her shoulders shook and soft sobs could be heard from her. Mokuba gently pried the small girl out of her arms and helped her stand.

"What happened?" Kaiba addressed the driver.

"The little girl ran into the street...then the older one grabbed her. She jumped up and landed on the hood and they both rolled off."

Kaiba tapped the girl's shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked curtly. Damn everything about this morning.

The girl slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing and rubbing at her shoulders. Kaiba placed his hand on her back to support her. She gingerly fingered her bleeding knee which had been scraped from the impact of the car accident. Kaiba repeated himself. "Are you alright?"

"Eh…" She paused. "Daijou bu desu." Kaiba quickly surveyed the girl. She was alright, from what he could tell, but from his experience in America, he knew some truly unpleasant persons could milk the accident for more than their worth. He inwardly groaned thinking about the chance that this girl would start an unnecessary and annoying lawsuit against his company for this accident. Not that he wouldn't win; it was just a hassle to go through the whole process. He looked at her again. Nasty scrapes from the concrete were scattered all over the exposed areas of her body. Her uniform was looking a little worn, but he couldn't be sure it wasn't like that already. Just in case, he would order a brand new uniform. It's not like it would put a significant dent in his savings. She did have a terrific nosebleed and a gash on her head was bleeding down her face, but other than that, she showed no signs of being in critical condition. She glanced around suddenly. "Ai? Ai! Where are you?"

She spoke this in English, Kaiba noted. American English; he did not detect that British accent. Mokuba came forward, holding the hand of the little girl, who upon seeing her sister on the floor, sobbed and rushed into her arms. "Lili!" she cried.

"Oh my gosh, thank you," the older girl said to Mokuba. She turned to Kaiba. "Oh…your name…I mean, namae wa?" she asked, with the little girl Ai's hand interlinked in her own.

Kaiba smirked on the inside. There was not one person in Domino City who didn't recognize him, and even so, he was world-renowned. Strange. Even ignorant, annoying, gyaru girls at his high school who didn't give a damn about keeping up with current events in the world, as long as they knew which celebrity was in a relationship, and with who, and what nail polish color was the best suited for their skin tone, knew who he was. They didn't know anything about the hurricane that had hit America recently, or the earthquake in Taiwan, but they could name the color of a lipstick just by looking at the shade. Amazing.

"Kaiba Seto," he replied brusquely. He glanced at his watch. If he didn't hurry and wrap this up, he would be late to first period and that stupid Jounouchi would not shut up about it for half the day. "What's your name?" he asked in English.

The girl paused, surprised at his fluency, and also relieved. "Li Hua. I'm sorry, my Japanese is not so good. I just moved here." Kaiba extended a hand and pulled her up. He could at least act the part of a gentleman when in public. Luckily he was fluent in English, not to mention several other languages, thanks to Gozaburo's strict schooling when he was younger, so he could negotiate terms if needed, seeing as how Japanese would not be too helpful.

When she stood, Kaiba let go quickly. He folded his arms. "What were you thinking? Trying to get yourself killed? You can't just jump in front of a car!" His tone was harsh and the girl seemed shocked at his sudden change in attitude. He was annoyed already with this stupid girl, causing more trouble than he needed this early in the morning. As if he wasn't already bothered by the sudden stock drop in one of his merger companies. She just had to jump in front of his car.

Li Hua stepped back. "I'm sorry."

A sharp tug on his pant leg made Kaiba loosen his grip. "Stop! Onii-chan! Please! It's not her fault!"

Kaiba looked down to see the pink haired girl staring up at him, nervous, yet tugging at his pant leg to pull him away from her sister. His tall and imposing figure was known to be intimidating to little kids. "It's mine," the girl said sadly, her head lowering. She sniffled.

"My ohagi rolled away and I tried to catch it. My onee-chan bought me my favorite ohagi for lunch and I lost it!" She pointed near the front tire of his car, where he saw the smashed remains spread across the asphalt.

"No," Li Hua sighed, stepping in front of her younger sister, her voice strangely firm and more resolute than earlier. "I am the oldest, I take full responsibility for the incident just now."

She looked down at her little sister. "I failed as an elder sister today," she added softly, biting her lip fiercely. "I should have kept my eye on you."

"Failed?" Kaiba asked.

She looked up at Kaiba, who was about a half a foot taller than her. "Do you know why the elder brother or sister is born first?" Kaiba stared into her dark brown eyes, unwavering in a piercing gaze.

"To protect the little brothers and sisters that come after him." Though he had never thought of it, the answer had come to him almost immediately.

"You go to Domino High, right? We'll give you a ride," Mokuba offered with a winning smile.

"Oh, no. I couldn't impose on you. I still have to take my little sister to school." Strange, Mokuba thought to himself. Any other girl would have killed to ride with his brother. Literally. There was a case a few months ago about a girl attempting homicide on a classmate who had been flirting a lot with him lately. It wasn't pleasant.

"It wouldn't be a burden. It was my fault, after all. Are you sure that you are alright? I can compensate you." Kaiba pressed on. There was always the risk of his proposals failing. But he was a businessman and an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs take risks.

"I'll be fine. I just—" As she took a step forward she lost her balance and collapsed, sucking in her breath sharply. Kaiba called for the chauffeur, commanding him to pick up the girl and throw her into the damn car.

"Sorry, nee-chan, but it looks like you're coming with us," Mokuba smiled as Kaiba lifted her into the car, despite her protesting. He nodded at Mokuba to follow with Ai.

Inside the car, the chauffeur wondered why Kaiba was going through all this trouble, going along with Mokuba's suggestion. True, this car had hit this girl, but he knew and Kaiba knew that he had all the power to pin the blame on her, or pay her and every onlooker to be quiet. Guilt? Maybe. Perhaps Kaiba was softening up towards other people besides Mokuba? Or maybe it was something else. The chauffeur smiled. At least he didn't get chewed out today.

* * *

Li Hua fidgeted in her seat, one hand holding a handkerchief to her nose and other hand tightly clutching Ai's. They sat between Mokuba and Kaiba. Li Hua coughed nervously. It seemed magnified in the silence of the car interior. "Sorry," she whispered. Kaiba sat leaned against the left window, his chin resting on a hand. He glanced at her and looked down at his laptop, tapping keys. If he worked quickly and efficiently enough, he could have this proposal done before he arrived at school.

What exactly was she apologizing for? He suppressed a slight smile as he discovered that this morning's stock drop was an error and that in reality it had rose by 4 points.

"The dent. I can pay for that."

Amusing. Did she not know that she could be the one asking for damage compensation? "That's alright. It isn't a heavy dent. Newer models of cars dent a lot easier. I should be the one apologizing, anyways." He continued typing, his slender fingers moving at an amazing speed. 140 WPM. "How are your injuries? I'm sorry we're all squeezed in here. This car is smaller than my others and they're all in for repairs."

Li Hua shook her head. "No, thank you for giving us a ride."

Awkward silence.

"Nee-chan. Li Hua, is it? How do you like Japan so far?" Mokuba asked. His English was not as proficient as his older brother's. "Oh, nevermind, we're at Domino Elementary already! I hope I'll talk to you later then! Ai, you come on too!" He and Ai hopped out the door.

Ai turned to face her sister in the car. Tears welled up in her eyes as she gingerly touched her sister's knee. "Onee-chan, I'm really sorry! My ohagi—"

"Shh, shh, it's alright," Li Hua said soothingly, shedding the awkward pauses she had when talking to Kaiba. "You're okay, that's all that matters. But please don't run into the street for anything else, okay? Have a nice day at school. I'll make you your favorite for dinner tonight," Li Hua said, hugging her. She turned her face to the side and Ai planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Ah, matte. Wait," Kaiba said, remembering that the little girl spoke even less Japanese than her older sister. Kaiba pulled a bill out of his pocket. This was a perfect chance for him to look even better and decrease any possible hostility towards him. "For your ohagi. Compensation." He leaned past Li Hua and handed Ai the money, letting Mokuba pull her away before Li Hua could protest.

"A-Ari…Arigatou go…gozaimasu, nii-chan!" Ai gasped in broken Japanese and waved at Kaiba as Mokuba pulled her backwards towards the school entrance.

Kaiba pulled the door shut and sat back in his seat. "Ohagi doesn't cost that much," Li Hua said. "You didn't have to do that." Was that annoyance on her face? Interesting.

Kaiba, typing an e-mail to a prospective client, stopped and looked up. "Are you angry?" he asked, amusement tugging on the corners of his mouth. Prideful women were funny. He rather enjoyed breaking down their tough exterior and proving to them they were still just powerless before him. "…It was a pretty big accident. Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the hospital? I will pay your fees, of course."

"I'm fine." Jeez, women sure were stubborn. "Is that Domino High?" She pointed out Kaiba's window at the large school building. When she leaned forward, Kaiba caught the scent of her shampoo. Flowery and sweet.

"I'll take you to the nurse, at least." The blood on her face and legs had dried but were still caked on her.

The chauffeur pulled to a stop and rushed to Kaiba's side to open the door. Kaiba climbed out, stuffing his laptop in his shoulder bag and offered his hand to Li Hua, who was gathering her own book bag. She took his hand gingerly and he pulled her out in one swift motion.

Kaiba never paid too much attention to women before, unless it was an advantageous situation. Atonement. Was that what he was doing? Here he was making all these hospitable offers and she was just shooting them down.

Well, he was just applying the same courtesy he would pay to any of his clients. As much as he hated to think about it, he was responsible. He was the one who hired the driver who was driving the car that he had bought. Even if that girl had done some idiot deed like jumping in front of the car, her reasons for it could win over hearts if she ever decided to take him down in court. Keyword "could". He was quite sure the odds were something like 90 to 10, but it would be a hassle to contact attorneys and make court appearances.

"Ah…" Li Hua bent down and rubbed her ankle. "I'm doing much better. You don't have to go through all that trouble." She took a step forward and fell.

"Didn't you say you were doing better?" he asked mockingly.

"That…I tripped." Kaiba helped her up.

"You need to see the nurse. Your ankle is swollen and you have blood all over your face. It looks disgusting. Don't be stubborn." God, women were so difficult.

"Okay." She stepped on her swollen foot; a sharp wave of pain jolted through her leg and shot up to her thigh. She gasped. Kaiba held her up. "It's…I'm…" she stopped and winced.

Luckily the clinic was fairly close. Slowly, steadily, they made progress. He had helped her in through the side entrance, ignoring whispers by his peers as they pointed.

"I'm sorry you had to do all that. I'm burdening you…" Li Hua trailed off as they neared the clinic. "You should get to class before you're late. I can go on by myself."

Kaiba nodded and let her go. No point arguing any more about it. It was her fault for refusing his offer. She didn't want his help anymore. Fine. He walked off to class while Li Hua hopped off into the clinic.

* * *

The nurse, in the middle of a magazine, jumped up when Li Hua slid the door open. "Oh my goodness." She rushed to Li Hua. "What happened?" The poor girl looked like she had gotten into a fight with a gang and lost. She had numerous scrapes, fresh bruises, and dried blood all over her face.

Li Hua forced a laugh and replied in hesitant Japanese. "I had an accident on the way here." She hopped over to the beds as the nurse brought alcohol, cotton swabs, and an ice pack.

"Hold still, dear," the nurse said, gingerly dabbing the scrapes with alcohol soaked swabs. Li Hua winced and shifted the ice pack she held to her ankle. The nurse bandaged the scrapes and then wiped Li Hua's face clean.

"Alright! All done." The nurse put away the alcohol in a cabinet. She sighed. "You need to be careful! Such a cute face! With so many band-aids on it!" She shook her head.

"You can rest a little on the beds if you want until your ankle stops hurting. The bell will ring in a few minutes."

"No, I should go to class. Thank you so much." She tested her ankle, which could tolerate her weight less painfully as she walked out the clinic. She looked up at the classroom numbers hanging from the ceiling. "My homeroom is 2B…2B…Where is 2B?" The bell rang as she perused the hallway.

Suddenly, she felt herself thrown forward as someone collided into the back of her. Li Hua landed untidily on the floor, more hurt added to her pained body. She looked up with watery eyes. A young man around her age stared at her, shocked. He had messy blonde hair with light brown eyes. His shirt was untucked and his coat unbuttoned. Completely different from Kaiba-san, she had thought. Kaiba-san's coat was immaculately buttoned, from the top to the very last button. "Oh my god," the boy said as he rushed forward to help her up. "I'm so sorry." He pointed at her bruises. "I didn't do that, did I?"

"Um…" Li Hua just smiled. "I'm fine," she told him in Japanese. She brushed off her uniform. "Can you show me to 2B?"

"Oh, hey, you're the new transfer student! We're in the same class, I'll take you." He smiled and led her to the classroom. "I'm Jounouchi Katsuya." As he opened the door, a thin piece of chalk narrowly missed his head. His eyes widened. Li Hua blinked.

"Ah! Jounouchi!" The homeroom teacher stood with her arms akimbo, her thin-rimmed glasses making her appear menacing. "What's your excuse this time?" She pointed a brightly polished finger.

"Sensei! Sorry! He was helping me," Li Hua said.

"Oh my god, Jounouchi, did you beat her up?" a student from the first row exclaimed.

"No! I would never hit a woman!" Jounouchi protested. "She was like that when we met!"

"The new student, huh?" The teacher flipped through her role chart. "Chang Li Hua, right?" Li Hua nodded. "Jounouchi, I'll let you go this time. Next time I won't be so forgiving. It'll be an after-school detention."

"Sensei! Really? Yes!" He gave Li Hua a grateful look and sat down in his seat near the back of the room. The teacher gestured for Li Hua to stand in the front of the room.

"Alright, class!" She clapped her hands. "This is Li Hua. She moved here recently from America. Let's make her feel welcome, alright?" She turned to Li Hua. Why don't you tell the class a little about yourself?"

Meanwhile, Kaiba sat in the same classroom quietly contemplating the philosophy of nihilism. He heard something about the bonkotsu coming in late and the class getting a new transfer student from America. He turned the page uninterested.

"Um…" Li Hua blinked, her hands fidgeting with her ice pack behind her back. "Hi, everyone. My name is Li Hua. I moved here last week. My Japanese is not very good right now but talking with all of you, I'm sure I will improve a lot. I hope we can all be friends." She smiled.

"Any questions for Li Hua?" the teacher asked. "Maybe some simple ones so she can get accustomed to Japanese."

A girl in the back with ganguro makeup raised her hand. "What part of America did you live in?"

"I lived in New York City, in Manhattan."

"What is your blood type?" A girl in the middle row asked. She had a teen magazine hidden underneath her notebook.

"AB."

A boy raised his hand. "What are your three sizes?" Several boys laughed.

The teacher quieted the class.

Kaiba looked up from his book. He had heard that poor Japanese before. God, really? That stubborn woman was in his class?

A girl in the front raised her hand. Kaiba recognized her as one of those idiotic girls who loved talking during lunch about who was dating who in school. Every time he heard her shrill voice he felt like he was losing brain cells. "Hey, hey," she said cheerfully. A sly smile spread across her face. "What is the relationship between you and Kaiba? Why did you two come to school together? Maybe you two were in contact while you were in America?"

Li Hua looked up, surprised to see that Kaiba was sitting in the back row, his eyes very intently watching her now. She swore she felt a chill down her back. "No, we just met today. He just helped me out a little." Several of the girls in the class looked relieved; some even sighed.

"Alright, enough Li Hua, there's an empty seat next to Mutou Yugi. Raise your hand. See it? Alright." She turned to erase the blackboard as Li Hua found her seat.

* * *

At lunchtime, Li Hua had been inducted into a large circle of girls, happily chatting with each other. Kaiba paid no attention, as usual. The idle chatter of high school girls hurt his IQ.

"So your name means Pear Blossom? That's so pretty. Nashihana is how we would translate your name into Japanese," one purple-haired girl said, picking at her bento.

"Miho, how about we call her Nana-chan? Na from nashi and na from hana," a short brown-haired girl suggested.

"Kyaaaa! Anzu, I like it. What do you think, Li Hua?" Li Hua nodded. It was cute, she supposed. She was concentrating more on trying to follow the conversations. She should probably read Ai's Japanese textbook when she got home.

"Well, welcome to class 2-B, Nana-chan!" another girl said.

Li Hua smiled politely. The girls liked to squeal about little things a lot, she noticed.

Anzu stood up. "Nana-chan, come with me. I'll introduce you to my friends." She took hold of Li Hua's wrist and gently pulled her over to a group of boys, one of which was the same blonde who had crashed into her this morning.

"Yo, you guys." Anzu waved. The boys were playing a card game.

"I fold," said a brunette. He placed his cards face down. "I can't tell if Jounouchi is just stupid and bluffing or he actually has a good hand. He's got that same idiotic expression for both." He faced Anzu and greeted her. "Done eating?"

"Lost again, Honda?" she smiled. She gestured to Li Hua. "Nana, this is Honda."

Anzu giggled. "And you know Jounouchi, right? You two came into class together. He's a big idiot." Jounouchi had waved and grinned but at Anzu's last statement glared at her.

"That's Yugi," she pointed to a short boy with spiky hair sitting between Jounouchi and Honda. "We've been friends since childhood," she added. Li Hua noticed a slight blush on Anzu's face.

"And this is Otogi." She patted the back of the black-haired boy she had sat next to. "He's from America too."

Otogi smiled. "I'm so lucky the transfer student is so cute. I look forward to this semester." Behind him, Jounouchi gagged.

The bell rang, signifying the end of lunch. Anzu and Li Hua waved and went back to their seats to clean up. Anzu helped Li Hua move her desk back. It was clean. Weird. She didn't remember if Li Hua had a bento earlier. She certainly didn't go buy bread for lunch.

At the end of school Li Hua lingered at the shoe lockers. She hoped her siblings were enjoying their first days of school and were able to make friends. Hopefully, they wouldn't have to move again.


	2. Chapter 2

_uwabaki-inside shoes_

_bonkotsu-kaiba's special name for jounouchi_

* * *

For the past three weeks, Li Hua had alternated between eating lunch with girls in the class and approaching his desk to try and start a conversation with him. They were usually brief interactions, since he didn't really share any interest in being social with his idiot classmates.

But he had to admit, she wasn't as stupid as she looked. Despite falling into the fad of loose socks and shorter skirts, Li Hua seemed to possess a bit of intellect allowing tolerable dialogue to come out of her mouth, such as discussions about classical literature or modern health innovations she felt were interesting. But chatter was chatter and took up time he could apply to more practical things.

"Why do you keep coming over here?" Kaiba asked one day, fingers rapidly typing.

"Aren't you lonely? You're always by yourself. And you never eat anything."

"Not hungry." He glanced over. He noticed today she actually had a lunch today, albeit a small one. Melon bread and strawberry milk purchased from the cafeteria.

"This weekend, Mokuba and Ai are going to the park to play. Are you going too?"

"I have work."

The bell rang.

* * *

A month later…

A huge crowd gathered in front of a large white paper tacked onto the wall. Anzu squeezed in. "Yugi-kun, would you like me to find out your ranking also?"

Yugi nodded. Unfortunately, he was one of the shortest kids in school and would have to squeeze all the way to the front to see anything. Jounouchi and Honda strolled towards him "What's everybody so excited about?" Jounouchi jerked a thumb toward the mass.

Honda threw an arm over Jounouchi's shoulder. "They posted the results of the mock exams we took last week. I'm pretty sure I can predict your rank. Somewhere near the bottom ten percent, or probably just the bottom ten." Jounouchi glared and threw his friends arm off.

"Bastard…Like you are any better." He stomped forward to check his grades. "Heh. I'll bet you three curry breads that I scored higher than you, Honda." He pointed a finger menacingly with a crooked grin.

"Deal." Honda said simply as Anzu came back.

"What did you say to Jounouchi?" she asked.

"Oh, only bet three curry breads that I ranked higher than him on the mock exams." Honda said triumphantly, stuffing his hands into his pants pockets.

Anzu raised an eyebrow. "Well, I hope you brought enough money today. Jounouchi beat you by one point." Honda's jaw dropped. Anzu continued. "Of course, number one we all know is Kaiba. Yugi, you...didn't do so well…but you're a lot higher than Honda and Jounouchi!"

Yugi rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Heh…I'll do better on the real exams. What did you get, Anzu?"

Anzu held up her fingers to form a "V". "Number thirty-eight," she answered with a small grin. "Ah, look, I see Nana-chan's name. Wow, she is pretty high up on the list. Her Japanese score is not so high though, but it beat Jounouchi's by a whole lot."

"Seriously? Me, a native speaker, lost to a foreigner?" Jounouchi asked, exasperated. He looked at Honda. "Heh heh. Guess who owes me lunch…" He folded his arms and smiled.

"Her Japanese has improved a lot this month. She sounds so fluent now. Ah, we better get to class." Anzu turned but spotted someone at the entrance. "Ah, Li Hua!" She rushed forward to Li Hua, who was switching her shoes at her cubby. "Nana-chan."

Li Hua looked up as she slipped on her uwabaki. "Ohayou, Mazaki-san."

"Aah, if you call me Mazaki-san, I'll feel like we aren't close and my feelings are hurt."

"Oh no! Sorry! I read books that said…I didn't—"

Anzu laughed. "I'm just kidding. But you don't have to call me Mazaki-san. We're friends! Don't be so formal." Li Hua nodded and placed her sneakers in her cubby.

"What's wrong?" Anzu asked as Jounouchi and the others walked towards them. "You sound tired. What's that on your leg? That's a really big bruise. Did you fall again?"

"Yeah…I need to be more careful, huh?" Li Hua glanced to her right and left slowly and continued in a whisper. "Um…I heard part-time jobs aren't allowed at this school? Is this true?"

Anzu nodded. "Students at this school aren't allowed to work." She looked around for teachers. "But if you don't get caught, it's possible. I worked at a burger place for a while."

"Oh, really? Thanks, Anzu…chan?"

Anzu cheered. "Yay!" She hugged Li Hua.

* * *

It's not like he was eavesdropping. Kaiba Seto didn't do such petty deeds, eavesdropping on classmates. She sat in front of him. Unfortunately that had also meant near Yugi and his group of idiot friends. But back to the point. She sat in front of him. It was enough to hear anything she or anyone at her desk said without straining to listen. And the class of 2-B had some fascination with foreign students. The girls had fawned on that new student Bakura for nearly 3 months. Li Hua wasn't an exception. But he expected that the wonder of the foreign student would soon be over. It was funny how his classmates were so attracted to new and shiny things, like animals.

But Li Hua's popularity was reasonable, he supposed, if he were to look at her from a commoner's point of view. She was more than decent in appearance, was kind to everyone, and whoever was on cleaning duty with her was finished relatively fast; her partners all commended her superior cleaning skills.

"Ohayou, Nana-chan!" A group of girls stood near Li Hua's desk. "How do you like Japan so far?"

Li Hua smiled. "I like it very much. It's very fun here."

"Ah? That's good. Let's go to a karaoke bar sometime, okay?" They said and they returned to their seats.

At lunch, Li Hua sat with the girls in the class, next to Anzu, who was partly chatting with the girls and partly watching Jounouchi, Honda, Yugi, and Otogi play poker. She laughed and turned to face the girls as Otogi laid down a winning hand. He winked at the girls, who giggled.

"Eh? Nana-chan, what happened to your hand? Did you fall again? You're so clumsy!" Anzu sighed, worry spreading across her face.

Nana lifted her hand. Bandages were wrapped around her middle and index. Anzu didn't remember seeing that this morning.

"Oh." Li Hua put the hand in her lap. "I know, I'm so clumsy! No guy will ever fall for an idiot like me! What should I do?" she added, laughing to the girls.

"That's not true," Otogi said suddenly. He was the closest to the girls' table. "You have a lot of other redeeming qualities. If the guy is smart, he'll see them."

"Aww, he's so sweet," the other girls sighed as Kaiba gagged on the inside. Li Hua blinked, not expecting such an answer.

"Thank you, Otogi-kun."

Jounouchi stared. "Yeah!" he added, not wanting to be outdone by Otogi after seeing how easily the girls fawned over him with a simple line. Man, he could be charming to girls too. What was something clever to say that would win that table of girls over? "Who cares if you have all those ugly bruises all over? You're still pretty."

Anzu sighed. "No, Jounouchi. Go back to poker."

Kaiba scoffed at Katsuya's blunder. What Kaiba had seen that everyone else had missed was an oddly shaped bruise across Li Hua's neck. He only saw it because it was on the back of her neck, and he sat behind her. When she bent down to write notes, her hair had slipped away and revealed it. Formulating thousands of hypothetical situations, he had come to conclude that there was no possible way to injure your neck in any accidental situation and escape with such a bruise of that shape. And you cannot doubt Kaiba Seto's immaculate calculations. He had suspicions about that mark.

After school Li Hua was on cleaning duty. Her partner had gotten sick during the school day, so she was alone. Kaiba was still in the classroom. He was usually the first to leave, always seeming to be in a hurry.

The relationship they had was strange; she had a feeling that Kaiba had no interest in being friends with anyone, but they still said hello to each other occasionally in the halls, and he never told her to go away when she approached him at lunch. He even held a conversation with her sometimes. Maybe he felt obligated to talk to her because he had hit her with his car. Well, not really him, but his chauffeur. It was nice that Kaiba actually talked to her though, as she hadn't seen him converse with a lot of the class, but she wished that he actually talked back.

Li Hua started sweeping the floors. "What is it?" she asked, blinking curiously as Kaiba approached her from behind.

"You have something in your hair." He reached a hand up and swept at the back of her hair, exposing her neck and the oddly shaped bruise.

Li Hua seemed to tense up. Her hands dropped the broom, which dropped to the floor with a loud clatter. "Um…did you get it?" she asked, hands halfway up.

"Got it. Flower petal. Good bye."

He left the room and waved curtly to her from the doorway. Li Hua bit her lip, gathering her hair back. Maybe he hadn't noticed it. Maybe he thought it was a birthmark.

* * *

Suspicions confirmed.

Kaiba had seen that shape before, back when he lived at the orphanage. Several kids had it, some on the sides of their necks. He hated seeing it on those kids' necks., their arms, their bodies. The shape of someone's fingers grabbing too roughly and too tightly.

The color suggested it was recent.

Somebody had tried to strangle Li Hua.

* * *

"Poor Nana-chan," Anzu whispered to Jounouchi during a break. "She's so clumsy, falling all the time. Look at her." Jounouchi turned, watching Li Hua stack a pile of papers on the teacher's desk. She knocked over a box of paperclips and bent down to pick up the scattered contents, only to hit her elbow on the desk corner. Her hand was bandaged from last week and a small mottled bruise in an amorphous shape resided on her thigh. It seemed to be just finished healing.

Li Hua returned to her seat, smoothing down the hem of her dress before sitting. Kaiba narrowed his eyes, observing her. Her bangs had been fastidiously smoothed over her eye and kept in place with a barrette. It looked fashionable, he guessed, but he wondered how it wasn't a hindrance to her sight. He noticed sometimes he had to lift the hair a bit with her hand to see clearer. On one of those occasions he had caught sight of purple around her eye, but he wasn't sure.

"Okay, Jounouchi-san, please read the next paragraph out loud," the teacher called, signaling the return to English studies. Jounouchi stood up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry, sensei, but I don't have my book." The class giggled.

"Ara, Jounouchi-san. What am I going to do with you? Alright, Mazaki-san. Please read."

Kaiba glanced up. It wasn't any of his business what happened to her, he told himself. He wondered why he was so concerned anyways. Maybe he still felt that he owed her something after the accident. Kaiba Seto would not be indebted to anyone. That might be it.

And the fact that he noticed any details about her could only stem from his acute and inherently superior senses. He couldn't expect Yugi and his friends to notice anything even though she spent a lot of time at school with them. And of course they were so simple-minded they would believe that she obtained her injuries because she fell down. Yes. He was just much more superior.

But really. That mark. It was infuriating. She was a stubborn girl, sure, but it wasn't as if he disliked her. And just knowing she was being subjected to that kind of thing...and it was likely it wasnt just her. Kaiba remembered the small, frail figure of her little sister. In his mind, he pictured two large rough hands grabbing her, and her body breaking into pieces.

* * *

After school, Li Hua was ready to leave before the bell rang, which was unusual, Kaiba noted. She seemed to be in a rush, too. Anyways, he had work to do. This week was extremely busy. He had several events to organize, not to mention hire more employees after a scandalous occurrence involving several of his employees had forced him to let them go for the sake of Kaiba Corporation's reputation. He walked calmly and debonairly to his awaiting limo, thankful his cars were done with repairs, about to turn a corner when he heard a familiar voice.

"Yes, Jounouchi-kun? What did you want to talk about?"

"Er. Li Hua…" Kaiba leaned closer, cursing his interest in this conversation. What the hell was wrong with him? He felt like those stupid, gossipy girls he cursed everyday at school. No, he was just waiting until they left. If he made his way over that stupid blonde haired cur would start getting loud like he always did.

"Jounouchi-kun. I'm so sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so maybe—" Her voice sounded anxious.

"No, I'm sorry. I'll make this quick. Li Hua, who is hurting you?" Kaiba's eyes widened. Not much, just a millimeter or so. He was Kaiba Seto after all, and merely the fact that the bonkotsu had reached the same conclusion as him was not worth a huge expression, but it did merit some reaction.

"What do you mean?" Her voice did not waver but he could sense a subtle tone of nervousness. "Everything is fine, you know. What a weird question." She laughed.

"Li Hua." Jounouchi's voice was stern. Kaiba was a little surprised. He didn't know the retard was capable of being serious. Though maybe he had witnessed him being serious, but found it too laughable to be considered seriousness. "I understand why you're denying it. But I want you to know, that you don't have to hide it, especially from me. I know what you're going through. And if you need someone…"

"Jounouchi, everything is fine." Kaiba peeked around the corner, unaware of a group of freshman girls watching him.

"I can tell. I know. A girl like you shouldn't have to go through this. I can't stand seeing someone I li…someone who's a good friend to me get hurt like this." He reached a hand up and lifted her bangs gingerly, a sorrowful expression on his face as he lightly fingered the bruise around her eye. "You didn't get this from a fall. Or this." He lightly touched her neck, veiled by her long hair.

Li Hua laughed and gently pushed his hand down, her soft hair cascading back down over her eye. "You're very sweet, Jounouchi, worrying about me. I'm really glad we're friends. You're a good guy." She touched his hand and squeezed it.

Jounouchi frowned. "I haven't told anyone. It's not my place to tell. I just want you to know that I'm here for you. I…I know what it's like. My dad…" He pet her head, a sad smile on his face as he turned to leave. "See you tomorrow, then." Kaiba turned around quickly, not wanting to bump into the bonkotsu. He walked briskly toward his limo and slid in.

Li Hua stood alone on the school grounds, a hand on her head where Jounouchi had touched her. It felt so warm, where his hand had been. Her schoolmates passed her by but paid her no heed. Li Hua looked to the direction Jounouchi left in. She smiled slightly, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you, Jounouchi-kun," she said softly.


	3. Chapter 3

Where is the drama? It's coming.

* * *

Today, all the homeroom teacher suddenly had an urgent teacher meeting to attend, so all first year classes had free study time for the time being. Of course, one would have some difficulty finding one student in the room actually utilizing the time to study. The students had shifted their desks and rearranged the room to better suit their activities.

"Bullshit."

Honda sighed. "Damn, Yugi. You called me out." He reached for the large pile of cards in the center of the Bakura's desk, the others grinning widely as he shuffled the new addition into his hand.

"That's because someone just put down 3 sevens a few turns ago." Yugi laughed and placed 2 cards face down. "2 Jacks."

Anzu, Bakura, Jounouchi, Honda, and Yugi were all gathered in a circle around Bakura's desk playing card games. On their right, Otogi was sitting next to Li Hua at his desk, showing her the notes she had missed in her absence the day before. Otogi was the only one who shared her whole schedule the closest, having the same math, English, science, and Japanese classes. Plus, since he was from America as well, she could talk to him in English, or a mix of Japanese and English.

"Otogi-kun, is this the right character?" Li Hua asked, holding up her notebook and pointing to a character. Otogi leaned closer, his hand stretching behind her to hold onto the back of her chair.

He looked at his own notebook for reference. "Oh, haha, I got a little messy there. But yeah, that's right. You're pretty good with kanji. It must be because of your Chinese."

Li Hua smiled and resumed her copying. Her pencil moved rapidly across her notebook, then stopped.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"Thank you for helping me so much. I don't know how I could repay you for your kindness."

Otogi laughed. "It's alright. Don't worry about it. We're friends." Li Hua nodded and resumed writing. Ever since she transferred right after the first term ended, Otogi never refused when Li Hua asked him to help her in Japanese, even staying after school many times. Since the first day, he had been kind to her, helping her catch up in Japanese. Otogi was a really good person. It was thanks to him that her Japanese had improved so much in the three months she had been here so far.

"Jounouchi?" Anzu waved her hand in front of his face. "Jounouchi, it's your turn. Hello?" She followed the direction of his gaze. "Why are you staring at Bakura? Are you in love with him or something?"

Jounouchi blinked. "Wha?" He processed everything she had just said. "Wait, no! I'm not in love with Bakura."

Anzu leaned in, whispering. "If it's not Bakura then it's Nana. Why were you staring at her?"

Jounouchi turned his face away, refusing to look at Anzu. "No, that's not it. Just…look how close Otogi is getting to her. His arm is practically around her and he's got that lewd smile on his face. He's fooling her with his nice guy lending notes act and staying after school almost everyday because he's a good guy act. He's a player. You remember when we first met him. You know what he really wants."

Bakura blinked. "So when he lent me his notes yesterday…" he trailed off and blushed.

"Oh! Could this be what they call jealousy?" Anzu clapped her hands together dramatically.

Jounouchi's face reddened. "No! That's not it. It's…like a brotherly feeling. Yeah. I'm this way with Shizuka too. I gotta protect her from lewd characters. I had to protect her from Otogi too. So I feel the same way with Li Hua. I mean, look at her. She's just so clumsy and naïve. She'll fall in any guy's trap. She gives off the feeling of too trusting, you know? You've seen how she's been with people in school. She even chatted nicely with that bully from the class next door. She's the kind of girl that thinks she knows the good in anyone, even a rapist serial killer."

Anzu glanced at Li Hua's smiling face and then turned back. "Yeah, I guess you're kinda right. But I think Otogi-kun's being genuinely nice." She patted his back.

Honda jumped in front of his friend, a hopeful smile on his face. "Hey, Jounouchi. I'm not a lewd character, so could Shizuka and I—" Jounouchi's hand smashed into his face, covering his mouth.

"Hell no. You're number one on the list." Jounouchi glared at him. "Anyways, what are we on? Oh yeah." He placed two cards face down on the pile. "2 fours."

"Bullshit," Anzu sang. "I saw your whole hand just a while ago, when you were denying your infatuation for Bakura and Nana-chan. Heh heh."

* * *

At lunch, Kaiba noticed that today, Li Hua was without lunch. Not that he was purposefully watching everyday if she had lunch or not. He just noticed these kinds of things, what with his advanced acuity. It was just noticeable, since she sat in front of him.

He looked down. What was he doing? He didn't have time for this, noting if some girl had lunch or not. How silly and inane. She could very well just be on a diet. Not that she needed it. Even for her height, she was still very slim. He supposed if he were interested in girls, he would think she had a nice figure.

He paused. Why was he so concerned with her anyways? Was it possible…could this be what these people called guilt? Had he actually developed guilt from that incident and was now worrying about her welfare? He almost laughed to himself as he filled out an invoice. No way. If he still felt guilt after so long, then he was not the Kaiba he thought he was. He proceeded to write an e-mail reply to the CEO of a small company who had written to propose a merging.

How could he rid himself of this nagging feeling then? It was interfering with his work schedule; he had not calculated human compassion into his daily life. The few minutes he spent wondering about her each day was time spent inefficiently. Maybe if he could ensure that she was well off. Logically thinking, he hadn't really cancelled his debt from that day. He hadn't really compensated her, merely aided her in finding the clinic.

Now that he thought about it, Li Hua hadn't been coming up to his desk for a long time now. She missed school a lot, and would spend lunch next to that girly looking boy Otogi to catch up on notes. Why didn't Li Hua ask him for help, Kaiba thought to himself. He was much smarter and he could speak English too. Hell, he could even speak German, French, Mandarin, Italian, Korean, and Russian.

The bell rang and he looked up at the clock. Ten minutes before the next teacher would come. Maybe it wouldn't hurt that much if he didn't utilize these ten minutes for business, he thought, as he found his line of vision settling on a certain black haired girl.


	4. Chapter 4

Kaiba was at home today, but in his giant office, working. His fingers felt stiff, and he thought he would head to the kitchen for something to drink.

Mokuba was bored. He was on the couch in front of the television, doing some homework. One of the maids came over to bring him some food.

"Hey, Miki-san. Today one of my friends had this purple thing on her leg. I asked her what it was and she ran away. Did I say something wrong?"

Miki set down a glass of juice. "Hmm…maybe. She is a girl, Mokuba-sama. You have to be delicate with girls, you know. It's probably a birthmark she's embarrassed about. Oh! Kaiba-sama, if you're thirsty I can bring you something!"

Kaiba grabbed a bottle of tea from the fridge. "I'm alright, thanks." He walked back to his office and continued typing in silence, but couldn't help think about the young children in the orphanages who arrived with bruises and broken bones.

* * *

It was almost the end of second term. Winter vacation would be here soon. He often found himself wondering each day if Li Hua would be coming to bother him at lunch. Did he really feel bothered? If he did, he could have easily made her stop approaching him.

And there was a limit to how clumsy someone could be. Kaiba sat at his desk, watching as Li Hua tripped on a piece of chalk in the front of the classroom during lunch.

"Ow." Li Hua landed ungracefully, face down. Jounouchi and Otogi had rushed to her side. Jounouchi offered a hand.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

Li Hua nodded as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Otogi put her arm around his neck and helped her stand up slowly. "Do you need to visit the clinic? I'll be happy to take you."

Li Hua shook her head. "No, I'm alright." She flexed her knee and winced. "Thank you, Jounouchi-kun, Otogi-kun."

She walked back to her seat slowly. "Kaiba-san," she said, waving. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time."

Kaiba responded with a curt nod. "Yes. I hope you've fully recovered from your cold."

Silence.

Kaiba thought to ask her something to continue dialogue, but it would seem out of place after so long. He kept quiet.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Kaiba-sama, but we've got a flat tire…"

"So fix it," Kaiba said, rather annoyed. He opened the door, thinking to get some fresh air while the tire was changed.

They had stopped near a park. It was fairly empty right now.

As he turned by a tree, he was hit with déjà vu as he saw Jounouchi and Li Hua talking together. They were sitting on a bench. Li Hua was wearing a uniform of some sort, like a convenience store apron. Not really thinking, which was a rare case for Kaiba Seto, and emphasis on rare, he stopped and listened.

"Are you really okay?" Jounouchi asked urgently.

"Well… I get sick easily."

Jounouchi paused, then reached out a hand and put it on top of Li Hua's hands, folded neatly in her lap.

"Who is it?" Jounouchi asked. Li Hua glanced up quickly. Kaiba looked to see what she would do next.

"It's not your problem," she responded, strongly, yet gently. Li Hua left Jounouchi's hand on top of hers. It was so warm and reassuring…

Jounouchi looked down, his cheeks slightly flushed. "A...a boyfriend maybe?" He paused, ashamed that he had tried to find that out under the circumstances. "I know what it's like, when someone close to you does this. I wish you didn't try to take it all on your own though."

"Jounouchi, I—"

"I didn't come to you with the expectation that you would tell me everything, but I wish you had more faith in me."

"Really, you're worrying too much, everything is—"

"Don't tell me everything is fine!" Jounouchi said loudly, looking extremely angry. "It's not! Look at you!" He stood up.

"You try to be strong, no, I know you're strong. At first I just wanted to let you know you weren't alone. But I can't just sit and not do anything when I know my…my friend is suffering." He touched her hair softly, sadly.

"I know you're not really clumsy. You're just pretending you are so everyone thinks it's normal for you to be all bandaged up and bruised."

Li Hua didn't look surprised. "How did you know?" she asked casually, almost as if she were asking for feedback.

"I saw you in physical education. Your reflexes are too good."

Li Hua laughed. "Forgot to hold back again...I just love volleyball too much. Katsuya-kun, I'm sorry, I have to go. My break is almost over. I'll see you tomorrow. Come visit me again, I will work this weekend too." Li Hua stood up, the two of them holding hands silently for a minute before she waved good bye and returned to the store.

Kaiba, feeling slightly irritated for some reason he didn't know, left, making his way back to the limo.

Jounouchi was left alone. His face was slightly flushed as he sat back down on the bench. He smiled dumbly as he realized she had called him by his given name.

* * *

Li Hua tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes but she blinked them back. She had never seen Jounouchi so angry before. But she couldn't drag Jounouchi into her problem. If Jounouchi got involved…she didn't know what that man would do to him. And he was so sweet…he cared about her…she couldn't let him get hurt.

It was hard. He made himself sound so reliable, and it was hard enduring everything by herself, without anyone she could talk to about it. She felt like she was going to explode sometimes, but if she cried, her siblings would get worried. Jounouch. He was really nice. She didn't mind that he copied her homework or had a profane mouth. His presence was comforting and when he took her aside to assure her that she could come to him with anything, or just to talk with her, she felt warm and happy. She didn't need him to do anything, just the thought was enough.

Otogi was nice to her as well. She had never been treated with as much kindness by another classmate before, let alone two. Back in America, she hadn't really stood out in school and was mostly ignored by her schoolmates. Japanese had been her worst subject and though she picked up things fast, it was hard to learn up to the 10th grade level in such short time. Ryuuji had patiently weaned her from English to Japanese with constant conversations and after school sessions. He, like Jounouchi, often took her aside to talk privately, but mostly he asked about things she liked and what she was interested in. Not that Jounouchi didn't ask her those things either.

Come to think of it, Jounouchi had said that he knew what it was like. Maybe that's why he had noticed, why he had asked. But was he free? Or was he still trapped, like her?

Li Hua stood at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. She saw a black car pass by her and was reminded of her first meeting with Kaiba. She had wanted to become friends with him, and their seating arrangement made it seem like a good chance, but it was a long and difficult process. She wondered if she should just stop, but Kaiba hadn't necessarily shown any signs of annoyance. In fact, he had even started saying more than "Good morning" and "Goodbye". She was pretty sure she was making some progress. In fact, just the other day, Kaiba had even said "Ohayou" to her before she even said anything.

If only Kaiba was as cheerful and accepting as his little brother, she found herself thinking. And cute. Li Hua tried to imagine a cute Kaiba, who smiled a lot and pulled at her arm to try and show her something interesting. She almost laughed. It would be ridiculous.

Li Hua quickened her pace, her shoes making soft patters against the concrete sidewalk. The convenience store she had been working at since the middle of term was just in front. She had so much to do today…Work until evening, then when she got home she had to prepare dinner, do laundry, clean up that terrible mess from two nights ago, and help her siblings with their homework as well. What should she make for dinner? Gyoza?

She bit her lip. She hoped that man wouldn't come again. He left two nights ago on another one of his trips and she wished he would just stay away, like last year. How did he find them? When they had come so far? She bit her lip harder, tasting blood. If only he would just die…

"Aah!" she cried as someone's shoulder collided into hers. Li Hua stumbled a bit, catching herself before she fell. She turned quickly and bowed her head in apology. "I'm so sorry." Wrong, she was in Japan. She tried again, in the right language. "I didn't pay attention. Sumimasen."

"Wow," a deep male voice said, and Li Hua felt a solid grip grab her shoulder tightly. She winced. "Are you a foreigner? Nice English, but I don't understand. My friend's shoulder is all messed up, he won't be able to play in our table tennis club's tournament this week. How are you gonna compensate him? If you ignore this, you are trampling the beautiful Japanese culture."

Li Hua raised her head slowly, her long hair falling about her shoulders. She eyed the three boys in front of her. They looked around her age, maybe older, perhaps seniors. They looked like what other students at school had called yankees and delinquents, with dyed blonde hair and untidy uniforms and a cigarette protruding from their mouth.

"I'm very sorry. But how weak are you that you were injured by a minor collision with a little girl?"

Her cheek earned her a slap across the face. She almost fell back but she shifted her weight.

The boy's hand moved from her shoulder to under her chin, forcefully lifting her head higher. "Oi, Kawamura. What do you think? She's pretty cute. If she shuts her big mouth. If I were you, I know how I'd like to make her pay me back." He chuckled.

Kawamura came closer. "I don't know, Toshi. I'm not really into anything less than D cups." Kawamura reached a hand out and made a grab for Li Hua's chest. She slapped his hand away.

"Do you think we'll go easy on you just because you're a little cute?" Kawamura growled. He grabbed her wrists roughly. He twisted her around, locking an arm around her neck.

Li Hua's quickly bit down into his arm, hard enough to draw blood. He yelled, releasing his grip on her. She started to run but one of them grabbed her hair and yanked her back with such force that she fell backwards onto the floor. "Get up, you dumb bitch," Kawamura said, half dragging Li Hua by her jacket collar towards an alley.

As he dragged her a long, her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings for any thing she could use. She spotted a glass bottle and quickly shoved it under her work apron, keeping it in place with her thighs.

"No! Stop!" Li Hua yelled. She wiggled out of her jacket, but the boy grabbed one of the ties of her apron. Li Hua quickly grabbed the bottle she was holding and brought it crashing down on her captor's head. He fell to the floor.

She ran, but Toshi blocked her exit route, clutching one of her wrists. She threw a punch. The boy grunted and clutched at his stomach, but did not relinquish his grip. Li Hua drew back her arm again, but the boy recovered himself and slapped her hard across the face, the slap echoing. Li Hua's eyes watered as her head knocked back into the wall. She felt blood pouring from her nose.

"She's really starting to piss me off!" the boy yelled to his other companion, the nameless third person, and tugged at her hair viciously. "Let's beat the crap out of her first!" Li Hua felt tears slowly making rivers down her face. She was scared.

If she were stronger. If only she were stronger. Why was she always so weak?

She felt sharp pains in her legs as he dragged her through a pile of broken glass and loose gravel. He sat over her, tearing open her shirt with his free hand, the buttons flying off.

"Fuck! Kenji!" Toshi suddenly yelled, and Li Hua felt the grip on her hair slacken. She rolled out of his grasp and crawled away, breathing heavily. The third boy, Kenji, was clutching at his eye, his attention no longer focused on Li Hua and Toshi was staring ahead at a figure whose presence would have brought tears to Li Hua's eyes if she hadn't been crying already.

"Leave her alone," her savior said, his voice terrifyingly angry. He stepped closer, and the two delinquents stepped back cautiously, raising their fists. Kenji stumbled a bit, one hand still clutching at his eye. Li Hua saw a few drops of blood drop down onto the pavement.

Toshi charged, yelling, but the boy agilely evaded his punch and with a few simple but swift moves, rendered Toshi unconscious. Kenji swore and rushed forward, but his opponent was faster. He rushed in with his fist forward. It connected with Kenji's face with a disgusting crack. Kenji fell on top of Toshi with a heavy thud.

Li Hua stared at the unconscious males, her breathing still quick and her heart pounding loudly in her chest. Her rescuer rushed towards her, making sure to stomp heavily on the unconscious Kawamura as he came over.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently, crouching down. He tenderly swept back the hair covering her face and lifted her chin towards him. He wiped her tears with his shirt sleeve. Li Hua threw her arms around his neck and grabbed him tightly, not bothering to stop the sobs escaping her lips or the tears running down her face.


	5. Chapter 5

Inspired. Butterfly's review made me feel like updating. :)

* * *

"Are you alright?" the boy asked softly as she sobbed into his chest, her whole frame shaking as she cried. He lifted a hand and ran it through her hair, glaring at the unmoving bodies of the assailants.

"Katsuya-kun!" Li Hua cried, her hands clutching the back of Jounouchi's clothes tightly. "I was so s-scared…My heart feels like it's going to jump out of my chest..."

"Yeah, I know, it's okay," Jounouchi whispered reassuringly, patting her head and letting her soft hair slip through his fingers. He was quiet, just sitting with Li Hua and letting her continue to soak his front with warm tears. She was so close to him. He could smell her shampoo. It was fruity and sweet, like his sister's.

"Did they do anything to you?" Jounouchi asked, his brown eyes downcast on his friend, gently prying her off of his chest to look her in the face. Li Hua bit her lip, averting her gaze.

"No...I'm fine."

Jounouchi sighed again, patting Li Hua on the head. "That's good. But you don't look fine. Come on, there's a clinic nearby. Let's get you all cleaned and patched up. We gotta report these guys too."

Li Hua shook her head. "No, I can't! I have to get to work," she said, pushing herself up. She gasped as pain shot through her body, stumbling and losing her balance. Jounouchi stood up quickly to catch her, exasperated. Work? She wanted to keep working?

"Come on! Look, there are still pieces of glass in your legs from those assholes. We'll fix you up and talk to your boss and you can go home real quick, alright? Can you walk? Hold on to me, I'll carry y—"

"What the hell, Jounouchi…" a familiar voice said coldly from the alley entrance. Jounouchi froze and looked up.

"Otogi-kun!" Li Hua said, voice still a bit shaky.

"Oh…Otogi," Jounouchi greeted. "What are you doing here? "

Otogi stepped into the alley, making his way to the pair. "What the hell happened here? You're in a dark alley, Nana-chan is crying, and there's blood all over your shirt!"

"Katsuya-kun helped me when I was attacked by those guys over there," Li Hua said. "I got a nosebleed and it got on his shirt when I…" she blushed. Otogi frowned. Since when were these two so close that she was calling him Katsuya?

"She doesn't want to go to the clinic nearby."

"I can't, I have a shift at the convenience store to finish!"

"That one right there?" Otogi asked, jerking his thumb behind him.

"Yes, I—" She gasped as Jounouchi scooped her up into his arms, following Otogi, who was making his way to the store. The doors slid open and the boys made their way up to a young woman working in the back. She gasped when she saw Li Hua and Jounouchi, covered in blood.

"Excuse me miss," Otogi said in a smooth, charming voice. He flipped his hair. "Could you tell the manager that Miss Li Hua has been in an accident and will be going home for tonight?" He wrapped an arm around her.

The woman blushed. "Oh…yes…certainly."

"Man, you're scary…" Jounouchi commented when they left the store.

* * *

Otogi took Li Hua to visit the small clinic nearby, while Jounouchi ran to a police box to report the three boys, still unconscious in the alley. Li Hua came out looking much cleaner and less bloodier. The clinic even let Li Hua borrow some clothes, since hers were dirty. Jounouchi ran back from the police box, making it to the clinic just as Otogi and Li Hua came out.

"Well then, at least let me walk you home." Otogi coughed. "I mean, let us walk you home."

Li Hua looked hesitant for a bit, but she finally nodded her head. The three walked in silence, winding around streets and the sky darkening. Jounouchi carried Li Hua on his back. Otogi walked beside them. While walking past a family restaurant, Li Hua thought she saw a familiar black car turn a corner, and perhaps she imagined the figure sitting at the window. She lowered her head, chin resting on Jounouchi's shoulder. His long hair would occasionally blow back and tickle her cheek. It was warm and comforting here; the feeling of being taken care of by someone else had been something she had not experienced in a long time.

Li Hua directed her companions to the left, and then down a street before she stopped in front of an apartment complex, any thought of the black car from earlier driven out of her mind. The building was quite gloomy in color, as well as the surrounding flora. The paint on the walls was scratched and peeling, revealing the original and just as bland color underneath.

"Thank you so much for today!" Li Hua smiled, jumping off Jounouchi's back. She gave Otogi a hug, then dashed over to Jounouchi. "I cannot thank you enough for what you have done today." She embraced him tightly.

She waved at them before limping quickly towards the stairs on the side of the apartment building. The boys watched her unlock and push open a door, bright light falling on her frame and a young girl leaping out to hug her, before they turned around and headed home.

"...She hugged you longer than she hugged me."

"Well duh, I saved her."

* * *

"Anzu, can I please see your English homework? To uh, verify my own answers," Honda said with a smile to his friend. Anzu was quiet, a distant look in her eyes as she tapped the end of her pencil against her lips absentmindedly. She didn't seem like she had heard Honda at all, but then she shoved over a booklet. Honda took it hesitantly. "Are you alright?"

Yugi made his way over to Anzu's desk, Jounouchi behind him. "Anzu's worried about Li Hua. She hasn't come to school for four days now. I'm worried too."

Jounouchi clapped a hand on Yugi's shoulder, a slight smile on his face. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing," he said, but there was a slight waver in his voice that didn't seem like he believed his words. "She probably fell down the stairs again."

Anzu turned her head, shock across her features. "Don't say that! That's horrible!"

From his seat, Kaiba was flipping the pages of a thick hard cover. It was so damn noisy; when would the teacher figure out no one really studied when she announced self study time? Especially that damn Jounouchi and his boisterous voice. Why did they have to talk so close to his desk? Bits of their conversation drifted to him, and he found it hard to concentrate on fractual fluctuations in quantum mechanics. He didn't know why, but he somehow had an interest in the topic of their conversation.

"You know, I thought I saw her yesterday in a restaurant, but when I looked again, she had disappeared. I'm sure it was her though," Honda said, looking up from the middle of his deed of copying Anzu's answers into his own homework booklet.

"I miss her," Anzu sighed. "I wish she was here now and playing cards with us like before."

Otogi leaned forward on his desk with a smile, his hand resting under his chin. "She's so cute when she tries to bluff." Jounouchi glared at him, making sure to bump the leg of his chair against Otogi's when he swung it around to seat himself near Anzu.

She licks her lip when she tries to lie in card games, Kaiba found himself thinking. Where did that come from? Weird. Maybe he should take a break. The teacher didn't like it when he read his leisure books while she was teaching, even if Kaiba was fairly ahead.

"I'm sure she's alright though. She's always missing a few days and then coming back to school with a smile. I bet tomorrow we'll see her in the morning with that cheerful face greeting us again," Yugi said with a consoling pat on Anzu's back. She seemed to have snapped out of her gloomy mood, because she looked to Honda and snatched her homework away, leaving Honda with a sad and shocked expression.

"But lately, she hasn't been playing cards with us. I wonder what's wrong," Honda said, reaching for Anzu's homework. Otogi and Jounouchi's eyes met, and Jounouchi looked away.

It was during the last period that Kaiba heard something that caught his interest. Just a little. It wasn't as significant as stock dropping of course. Though, regarding stocks, he'd rather they rise. The teacher left to go to the bathroom for a few minutes, which the class took as a cue to start chatting loudly.

"Hey, Jounouchi, I think I'm going to go back to Li Hua's house and check on her." It was that retarded boy with the dice earring talking to the retard blonde.

Jounouchi's expression turned grim. "I went yesterday and no one answered."

"Are you sure you got the right door? We only saw it from a distance. Or you could have been at the wrong building; all those apartments are the same shade of gray."

"I'm sure!" Jounouchi responded heatedly. "She lives in the second apartment complex behind the Kazoku conbini in the older part of Domino."

Kaiba's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly. Did he hear right? She really lived there? In that crap area? But still. It was all such a coincidence. This evening he had a meeting with a client regarding the urban renewal of some apartments near that area. A tour was of course included in the meeting, and it wouldn't be too conspicuous if he just happened to take a tour of that girl's apartment building. He loathed the idea of the chance of having to meet Jounouchi there.

But, he justified his intentions in that, perhaps the reason Li Hua was absent was a delayed response to the car accident. Maybe internal damage. He was about to get up to go to the bathroom when they started talking again.

Otogi paused. "I heard your conversation with her that night. About what's been happening."

"She won't tell me who it is, but I know it's been happening since about three months ago."

"And you didn't do anything?!"

"She didn't want me to! She has her own reasons! We can't just crash her life without knowing the consciences of our actions."

"Consequences."

"I'll kill you, retard dice boy."

* * *

_consequences, jounouchi _


	6. Chapter 6

"Tao Tao nee-chan, I'm hungry!" Ai whispered, tugging at the pants of a girl about fourteen years old taking down laundry on the balcony. The girl bore a strong resemblance to Li Hua, but her face was rounder, her hair was only chin length, and she was shorter. Her face was half hidden by a scarf, the apples of her cheeks peeking out, visibly flushed from the cold weather.

Chun Tao, Ai's older sister and Li Hua's younger sister, took down the last shirt from the bottom of the laundry basket. She picked up the basket and gently pushed Ai inside the apartment. "Inside. I told you not to come out without a coat." She glanced up at the clock hanging in the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice it was this late already," she said. "I'll start making dinner now. Can you fold these for me and put them away?"

The balcony led into the kitchen, the largest room in the apartment. It was a small cramped area, but it was fairly clean due to daily maintenance, with all the essentials: a sink, gas stove, and a refrigerator and freezer. The small counter space held an electric rice cooker, microwave, and water boiler. No oven, as most typical Japanese kitchens were. There was a weathered looking kotatsu table in the middle of the kitchen and dining room, surrounded by thinning mats and some floor pillows.

Ai had disappeared into the hall, which led from the kitchen to two small bedrooms on the right and a tiny bathroom on the left. They were lucky to find a 2DK apartment with a bath for such low rent. Apparently, the rent was so low because there were rumors of the complex being haunted and cursing tenants. While Li Hua had waved it off as a silly story, Chun Tao had started to believe it was true. After all, how could that man find them so quickly?

Chun Tao opened the rice cooker. There was still some rice left from lunch, and some leftover meat in the fridge that Li Hua had gotten from her manager at work. Meat was such a nice luxury. She could make some fried rice. Chahan, they called it here. "Akito! Natsume!" she called over her shoulder.

Rapid footsteps neared the kitchen and two boys of about twelve with an identical face appeared. They resembled their older sisters, with soft, androgynous looks. One of them sported a fading black eye. "Nee-chan, what's wrong?" they asked together.

"I'm going to start making dinner. Akito, can you go to the grocery store and buy some barley tea and pudding?" Upon hearing that there would be pudding, the boys' eyes seemed to lighten up. Chun Tao opened the freezer, digging in the back for an ice cream container. She opened it and took out a few bills. Ever since that man had started coming over, Li Hua had taken the liberty of creating several hiding places all over the apartment. "Here. And get some potatoes too, for tomorrow's lunch." Chun Tao pulled off the long scarf she had wrapped around her neck and tied it around Akito's neck.

"Sorry, Aki-chan. The color is a little girly, but I haven't finished knitting yours yet. Don't forget a jacket, it's cold outside." Akito nodded and left.

Natsume, the one with the blackened eye, looked a little downcast. "Come help me chop the vegetables, Natsume. Li Hua said there was a sale near her work so she bought a lot for us. She said she fought her way through a swarm of scary oba-sans to get all this for us." Hearing that his sister requested his help, he cheered up a little, pulling out a chopping board and proceeding to slice a leek in half.

"When is nee-chan coming back?" Natsume asked quietly as his sister chopped some onions with commendable speed.

Chun Tao looked up at the clock. It was past eight already…and today was Saturday. Li Hua probably wouldn't be back until midnight tonight…She always came back late on the weekends.

"You'll probably be asleep when she gets back from work."

"Can we stay up to wait? Isn't it lonely when nee-chan gets back and everyone is asleep? And she has to eat dinner alone..." It felt like so long ago since he last talked with his oldest sister. She was always busy.

Chun Tao nodded. She looked sadly at her little brother's eye. It was that man's fault. She clenched the handle of the knife in her hand so hard her knuckles turned white. And it was that man's fault that Li Hua had to work so hard. Her older sister had been able to secure the fourth highest exam scores in Domino High, but had to pick up another job to cover rent, utilities, and food after that man came. Sometimes, she even missed class to work temp jobs during the day. Tired from working late, Li Hua had slipped to fortieth in the recent end of term exams. Apparently she fell asleep during the exams.

And her older sister had been such a good volleyball player back in America. But there was no way she could join the volleyball team at her high school here.

Now that exams were done and winter vacation was here, Li Hua started taking longer shifts.

Chun Tao wanted to work too, but Li Hua wouldn't let her. Besides, Li Hua's appearance made it easier for her to fake her age. Chun Tao's rounder face was too childlike. Not that it had stopped Chun Tao. She managed to find some odd work here and there, and hid her savings in her own secret place for an emergency. Or for pudding when spirits were low.

"Tao Tao?"

"What?" Chun Tao looked back at Natsume, who was still waiting for an answer. "Of course. It's the weekend anyway. We can work on homework while we wait, and when she comes back we share the pudding with her," Chun Tao smiled, mixing together the ingredients for the fried rice together. She added in some soy sauce from the cabinets above her, the meticulous arrangement courtesy of her older sister.

The door opened, and Akito came back into the kitchen. He pulled cups of pudding from a plastic bag and put them in the fridge. "They had some yams on sale so I got a few," he said meekly, holding out change for his sister to take.

"Wow! Thanks, Aki-chan! I love yams! These will taste really good when we roast them! Plus it's getting colder so it's the perfect time to eat yams!" She took them and put them on the counter.

"Can you and Natsume set the table? I need to check on Harume. I bet he's finished napping now." She left the kitchen while Akito wiped the kotatsu table and Natsume pulled out bowls from the cabinets. Akito was scooping out portions of fried rice into bowls when Chun Tao came back into the kitchen, holding a sleepy looking little boy. He was two, but tiny for his age, with large and lucid brown eyes. Ai skipped into the kitchen behind Chun Tao, rushing into her Akito's arms.

"Aki-chan! Aki-chan! Tao Tao told me we can have pudding tonight!" She giggled as she grabbed chopsticks for everyone and sat down on one of the mats. "I love pudding!"

Chun Tao was about to sit down when the door bell rang.

Everyone froze, silent. Even Harume, who had been cooing for his brightly colored cup decorated with kitties, knew to be quiet.

"Aki-chan, did you lock the door behind you?" Chun Tao whispered.

Akito, eyes wide, nodded vigorously.

Chun Tao stood up, edging closer to the door. She could hear loud voices, but they were unfamiliar and not the voice she and her siblings feared. There was a collective sigh of relief from the siblings.

"I hope she's okay. We haven't heard anything from her after exams."

"…and the other day the teacher said she had gone to the clinic and went home after lunch."

"Maybe she's asleep. Try again."

The doorbell rang. Chun Tao, clutching Harume tightly in her arms, slowly unlocked the door.

"Oh! Someone's home!"

She opened the door, seeing a blonde haired boy and a dark haired boy wearing the male uniform of her older sister's school. "Y…yes? Can I help you?" she asked shyly.

"Oh my god, Li Hua! Is that…your baby?" the blonde one asked suddenly.

"Look closer, stupid. This is obviously Li Hua's sister. She's shorter. And no, that's not her baby either."

"Oh." He turned to Chun Tao. "I'm Jounouchi Katsuya and this is Otogi Ryuuji. We're your sister's friends."

"Um…nee-chan isn't here right now…" Chun Tao said meekly while Harume huddled into her shoulder, uncertain about the newcomers.

"Do you know where she is?"

Yes. But she shook her head. "She won't be here until later."

"Can we wait for her then?"

"Um…" Chun Tao didn't know what to do. She thought that their names sounded familiar…the boys who walked her sister home a few weeks ago. She supposed that for the sake of courtesy… Chun Tao nodded and stepped aside.

The boys smiled and came in. "Whoa, it smells really good in here," the blonde remarked as the pair of them slipped off their shoes. They followed her to the kitchen.

Otogi looked around. It was a small apartment, but it was neat, perhaps cute. Flowers obviously colored and cut out by an elementary school kid were taped on the hallway walls and the sliding doors of the bedrooms. He noticed spidery cracks from behind the flowers, and their presence made him uncomfortable.

"Um, if you like, there is some leftover…I made it…it tastes okay."

"It tastes delicious!" Ai piped in. "Tao Tao nee-chan's chahan is the best!"

"Oh, then we have to try some," Jounouchi smiled. The children at the table moved over to make more space for the guests. He was surprised that Li Hua had such a large family. Must be an American thing.

"Oh yeah, we brought gifts. Omiyage. You guys know about that?"

Otogi and Jounouchi held out some grocery store bags. "It's not much. Just some snacks and drinks."

"Wow, thank you!" Chun Tao took the bags with her free hand, peeking inside. There was a colorful jumble of sodas and sweets. Her siblings would be excited to see these.

"So what are your names?" Jounouchi asked, looking around at the kids.

The little girl with pigtails raised her hand enthusiastically. "I'm Ai. Grade 2! That's Akito and Natsume, grade 6!" She leaned in closer to Jounouchi, as if telling him a secret. "Akito is just a little bit taller, if you want to tell them apart." She pointed at Chun Tao, who set down two bowls of rice. "Tao Tao nee-chan is a third year in middle school and Harume-chan is too little for school!"

"Chun Tao…" the girl said, blushing slightly.

"Wow, you're smart, aren't you?" Jounouchi laughed, ruffling Ai's hair. "I like you!"

Ai giggled.

Otogi looked at Jounouchi. He could tell that Jounouchi was struggling to keep up a cheerful appearance in front of these children. He was angry too. One of the twin boys in front of him had a faded black eye, the chipper little girl he was sitting next to had a fading bruise on her neck, and not that he was peeking, but he was sure that Chun Tao had an injury snaking its way under her apron.

Jounouchi had a younger sister who was probably around the same age as Chun Tao, a sweet little girl named Shizuka. He didn't even want to think of nice little girls like Shizuka or Chun Tao being a punching bag for some brutal bastard.

The front door creaked opened slowly, and Jounouchi noticed the children all tensed up. Chun Tao laughed nervously. It wasn't him. He would always open the door loudly and violently, like a firecracker. "Wind probably blew the door open…I'll go close it." She put Harume down and stood up, making her way to the door.

"Wait, I'll go with you!" Jounouchi said, dropping his chopsticks. Eye contact with Otogi communicated for him to stay with the younger children just in case something happened.

He heard a scream from Chun Tao and rushed forward. "Chun Tao! Are you okay?"

He stopped, confused, seeing Chun Tao hugging Li Hua, who was standing in front of the door. She was holding a small pink box, much like the ones that held small cakes and pastries from bakeries. Li Hua gasped seeing her classmate in her apartment.

"Katsu…Jounouchi! What are you doing here!"

"That's onee-chan's voice!" Ai gasped, and scrambled to her feet, racing to the door. The twins looked at each other, scooped up Harume, then followed Ai. Otogi sighed, following the children out of the kitchen. It seemed Li Hua was everyone's favorite sibling.

A jumbled chorus of "Onee-chan!" echoed.

Li Hua's brothers tugged at her arms, while Ai hugged at her leg. "Wait, you guys!" She laughed. It was such a nice laugh. Pure and carefree. "I'll drop the cakes."

"You're back early today," Chun Tao said, taking the cake box in Li Hua's hand.

"Someone asked to trade me shifts at the restaurant so I'll be working late tomorrow. She gave me those cakes as compensation. They're from that cute bakery you like to walk past when we go out."

Chun Tao checked the side. "Oh my gosh! This is where all the girls in my class go after school! I'll go put these in the fridge right now. Come on everyone!" she led the young siblings back to the kitchen, leaving her sister privacy to chat with her classmates.

Alone, Li Hua looked up at Jounouchi and Otogi.

"So…you're here."

"We came to check up on you. The teacher said you went home with a cold."

Li Hua sighed. "I had a shift today. But it's true that I wasn't feeling well." She slipped her shoes off. She was embarrassed that they had come inside to see this tiny apartment. She hoped that the bedroom doors had been closed. Especially the one closest to the front door…It had been the twins' room, but recently, that man had taken it over. It was filthy and disgusting. So all six of them had been crammed into one room. If she didn't hurry and rush them out, then Otogi would know too…

"We saw."

Otogi's voice snapped her head up. "Wha…what are you talking about?"

"On your siblings." Jounouchi's voice was low and serious. "But yours are the worst. You're shielding them with your own body, right?"

Li Hua rushed forward, clamping a hand on his mouth. "Please. My siblings are here. If you want to talk about it then I will meet with you later, but I don't want to talk about it here, not when he's finally gone for a bit. I have cakes from an expensive bakery. Look, they're so happy right now, please let them have it." Her eyes were pleading.

"Jounouchi," Otogi said softly.

"Fine." Jounouchi took his own hand and pried Li Hua's off his mouth. "But I've seen enough. You have to tell us what's going on. Everything."

Li Hua nodded, wiping away a tear that had managed to slip out of the corner of her eye. Maybe tomorrow. When that man came, he was usually gone for a week, most times more, on gambling, drinking, and women binges. She had a few days before she expected him to come back, and it was a nice feeling, finally having friends over.

But she didn't tell Jounouchi and Otogi anything the next day.

She didn't see them the next day.


	7. Chapter 7

Li Hua coughed, rolling onto her side. Her head hurt and she felt dizzy from hitting the wall. "Stop!" she yelled as loud as she could, even though she was about to throw up from how much everything hurt. "Don't touch her! Don't touch any of them!"

"Give me the money!" That man had come home. In a stroke of extremely bad luck, her uncle had lost over half of the money he had taken last time in just one night, and lost the rest when a woman he spent the night with stole his wallet. Angry at being deceived his mood was worse than usual. He kicked at the wall, leaving a hole.

Today, he was especially angry. Chun Tao was hurt from trying to pull their uncle off of Li Hua. She lay on the ground, still. Not even Harume, tiny Harume, had been able to escape his brutality. Shocked from being hit, Harume stayed huddled in a ball, quiet. His tiny figure was like a trembling kitten in the corner of the hallway.

He was a demon.

A demon that wouldn't stop haunting them even after they died, she was sure. He would hound them for money even in hell.

Li Hua's mother, who had a weak constitution, had died from complications after the birth of Akito and Natsume, and so her aunt and uncle had taken them in.

He was a heavy gambler even back in America. Harsh with his words. Lazy. They had learned soon after he took them in that he hadn't done it out of good will. He was vying for a chance at their inheritance.

Li Hua's mother had been from a rather wealthy family, but her uncle had fallen in disfavor with his mother and received almost nothing. Unfortunately for him, Li Hua's mother had arranged the whole inheritance to be allotted to Li Hua when she was 18, with a moderate sum taken out and given to Li Hua as allowance each month to share with her siblings. He took this money anyways, saying his sister's money was his money.

Her uncle started getting really violent after his wife left him.

Li Hua supposed her aunt couldn't put up with his constant gambling and drinking and his refusal to find a regular job. She left a note, saying she had met someone.

Li Hua didn't really like her. Her aunt never said anything when her husband took her allowance each month, or whenever her husband kicked her or slapped her or punched her. What kind of person just watches her husband punch a teenaged girl? When she left her husband, she didn't even take her children with her, Ai and Harume.

What a horrible woman, to leave her young children with such a vile man. To choose a man over her own children. Selfish. Everyone was just so selfish.

So Li Hua started working, and saving as much of her allowance as she could. She would take care of Ai and Harume as her own siblings. They were young enough to believe it anyways.

Finally she saved up enough. She bought plane tickets for all of them. She would save them all.

She took them all to Japan, where their grandmother was. Li Hua hoped that her grandmother would take them in. Her mother had told her that their grandmother lived in a big Japanese style house and was a well known tea ceremony teacher. But her grandmother refused to look after the children of her detestable son, or the children that led her favorite daughter to her death.

So they were on their own.

Domino City seemed far enough from her grandmother's house that her uncle wouldn't find them. She had gleefully imagined him full of rage when he discovered the house was empty and his only source of money had run away.

They found these cheap apartments, where the kind landlady sympathized with them. She had a child around Harume's age and offered to watch him during the day so that they could go to school. With Li Hua's monthly allowance, it had been enough for rent and food for all of them, as long as they were careful and didn't squander. She even found a job at restaurant, in case her siblings had any extra school fees, like for trips.

But somehow, he had found them.

She remembered the day he showed up. Like all her dreams and hopes were a fragile crystal sculpture and his appearance was this huge and heavy foot that trampled all over.

She had answered the door, thinking it was the landlady coming to pick up Harume. The landlady didn't live at the same complex, but she would come early in the morning before they left for school to pick up Harume, and then Chun Tao or the twins would go over to the landlady's place after school to bring him back home.

When she saw that foul man at the door, she tried to slam it shut and lock it, but he blocked the door. He trashed the whole apartment and took a large chunk of her savings. When she tried to stop him, he choked her.

He would come back several nights, drunk and angry, always wanting money.

This man.

He was why they couldn't be happy.

If only he was gone.

Li Hua clenched her fists.

Ai, in the hallway holding Harume's shivering figure, started crying, tears and snot running down her face. "Onee-chan!"

"Will you shut those brats the fuck up!" their uncle shouted. He started towards her. Ai gasped, scared. It would hurt. It always hurt so much. And whenever the bad man hurt her, she couldn't go to school to be with her friends for many days, and everything just hurt. She wouldn't be able to eat because it hurt, and she couldn't even walk to the bathroom by herself, or take a bath by herself. She was a big girl, she was supposed to be able to do them all by herself. With frantic panting, she tried to run, but Harume was heavy. The bad man grabbed her hair, eliciting a squeal. She let go of Harume.

"Ai!" Li Hua screamed. She pushed herself up, sucking in her breath sharply as pain jolted up her sides, her whole body shaking from strain.

"Stop, let her go!" She ran over to her uncle, trying to pry his thick hands off of Ai. He was drunk again; she could smell the sickening smell of alcohol heavy on his breath.

"Stop! She's just a little girl!"

She's your _daughter_, Li Hua wanted to yell at him. How could anyone treat their own child like this?

Ai cried, kicking her legs desperately as Li Hua pounded her fists into her uncle's back. He turned and punched her, knocking her to the ground. Li Hua rolled onto her front, her nose dropping blood onto the floor.

Akito grabbed Harume and Natsume pulled Ai backwards, all three horrified. Ai's chest moved up and down rapidly, so tense her fingernails dug into her brother's arm.

"You bitch. You're always hiding money from me. Ever since you were a shit brat. I know you've got it somewhere. You always get a good bit every month." He grabbed Ai's outstretched leg, and held her up, dangling her upside down. Akito and Natsume ran forward, but were kicked.

"Let her go! Let her go! I'll give you money!" Li Hua screamed, anger bubbling inside her. She had been planning to take all her siblings out to eat during winter vacation. She had gotten a bonus from work too, so that she could afford to let them eat more than rice mixed with furikake and vegetable dishes. They could have meat more often. More nutritious meals. Vegetables were healthy but with 3 growing boys, she needed to feed them some meat.

She could have even bought presents and a Christmas cake. The tears on her face weren't because of her uncle's angry and violent tantrums. It was frustration, her helplessness, her lack of power.

"Akito, get the envelope in the bathroom under the mat." Her voice was low, hesitant from the pain she felt, but Akito could hear it even with Ai's wailing.

Akito hurried away, coming back with a thick brown envelope. She just wanted her uncle to leave as soon as possible. Her uncle snatched it away, dropping Ai on top of her brothers, both boys holding arms out to catch her. He seemed satisfied, but when he opened the envelope and counted through all the bills, his face darkened. He kicked Li Hua, who was checking on the still unconscious Chun Tao.

"Fucking bitch! Are you shitting me? I know this isn't all you have!"

Li Hua lay on the floor, gritting her teeth as he stomped on her angrily.

"That's…that's all!" she tried to shout between stomps. It hurt to breathe. "You kept taking too much last time!"

"Stop it, uncle!" the twins shouted, running forward.

"No, stay back," Li Hua said between gasps.

"You're saying it's my fault, are you?" her uncle yelled as he stomped. "Ungrateful bitch, who do you think took all you shits in after your whore of a mother died?"

All she had to do was endure. He'd get bored and take the money and leave. Just endure. Endure. She could feel herself starting to black out. No, she had to keep awake. He'd get bored when she stopped moving and move onto other victims.

Stay awake.

Stay awake!

* * *

Kaiba stepped outside, feeling slightly relieved to be standing. His long legs felt a bit cramped in the car.

So this was it, Kaiba thought disdainfully as he surveyed the apartment complex. "Ugly," he remarked. Urban renewal…more like an urban miracle. This whole place would have to be torn down for any progress to be made. That man sure had guts trying to convince him that this area was prime estate. Though, it was pretty close to the green grocers, the shopping market, and many other food retailers…This may work. Though it was quite curious why the rent was so low. He heard rumors of some sort of curse or bad luck, but that was just ridiculous.

He strolled around some more, calculating expenses to renovate in his head, as well as potential profit. As he turned around a corner, he heard rather loud shouting from above him. He looked up. One of the doors was open. Maybe…

He started slowly up the stairs. Testing durability of the stairs, that's what he was doing. Fairly sturdy. But old, so they would be replaced as well. Yes. He tapped at the railing.

He found himself at the top of the stairs, next to the open door, where he could hear things quite clearly now.

Screaming. Lots of screaming. A man asking about money, shouting there wasn't enough. And crying. And Li Hua's voice. Screaming.

He dashed in, stopping in the hallway.

Just in time to witness a middle aged man with his hand around Li Hua's neck throw her into the ground. He thought of the children at his orphanage, the ones huddled in a corner with hollow eyes.

Disgusting.

Kaiba made his way to the man, tapping his shoulder. The man looked up at him, face etched in fury. "Who the _fuck_ are you? Some social worker?"

He looked down at Li Hua, her arms shaking under the weight of her body as she pushed herself upright. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice raspy. One of her eyes was swollen shut.

"You haven't finished telling me your thoughts on Animal Farm, so I came to find you," Kaiba replied. He turned to the man, taking his checkbook and a pen out of his inner pocket, scribbling something. He tore the check out, handing it to the man. "I trust this should suffice for your frivolous and lecherous purposes. Now leave."

"Stop! This has nothing to do with you!" Li Hua cried, wincing in pain.

Her uncle's face contorted into greed. Seto Kaiba? He looked the kid up and down. "So, is this your sugar daddy or something?" Li Hua's uncle laughed. "Good start. But you must not be that good if you're still stuck in a dump like this." Man, how much more could he milk out of this brat? He looked up, putting on his most threatening face, but the coldness of Kaiba's glare made him shrink back. He caught himself and glared back before leaving. Who did that brat think he was, disrespecting his elders. Well, he had the money now and he could come back later. Time to play pachinko. Man he was going to score with the ladies tonight with this much on him.

Kaiba bent down to help Li Hua up. "Can you stand?"

Li Hua shook her head, her words coming out in gasps. "No, please...don't touch me. I can't even...breathe right now. God..." She gritted her teeth.

"Your ribs might be broken. Hospital. Now." He took out his cell phone, calling for an ambulance. Li Hua didn't have the energy to knock it out of his hands.

"My sister," Li Hua pointed to Chun Tao's body. Kaiba went over and inspected the girl. Her chest moved up and down softly. She was still alive. Her face looked terrible though.

"Is onee-chan going to die?" Ai wailed, rushing forward. Akito grabbed her back, a nasty black eye on his face.

Kaiba was about to answer when noisy yelling interrupted.

"Li Hua! Hey! Your door was open! Are you alright?" It was that frigging bonkotsu and his dork friend with the dice.

"Kaiba?" Jounouchi yelled. He pointed at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You're slow, _bonkotsu_."

"Why, you—"

"I called an ambulance over. Since you guys are here you can take care of her and the rest of these brats. I'll go talk things over with the hospital staff and police. See you."

"Wait! No police!" Li Hua gasped.

Kaiba glared back at her. "Are you _serious_?"

"Please, don't make any reports just yet."

"Fine. We'll talk later." He left.

Otogi held onto Li Hua gingerly, who was still struggling to sit up in the least painful way possible. She was staring at the door sadly. "Kaiba..."

* * *

Kaiba was still shaking in anger as he slid back into the backseat of his car. He would have liked dearly to sink his fist into that man's ugly face. Oh, he would find that man's name, even if Li Hua wouldn't tell him, and he would make him suffer.

Child abusers were the worst.

Picking on the weak. Despicable.

They all looked terrible…half of them with black eyes and bloody noses… Not one of them had been spared. Even that tiny little boy, the one the size of some small animal, had nasty bruises. It could have easily been Mokuba, several years ago, in that place. He remembered the sight of Li Hua and her siblings crumpled onto the ground, bleeding, shaking in fear, and he clenched his fists.

Disgusting.


	8. Chapter 8

Li Hua woke up to a haze of bright lights beaming down on her. Where was she? She blinked, raising a hand to shield her eyes, only to see there was a thick cast around her arm.

Her head hurt. Her mouth was dry. She felt dizzy.

She sat up slowly, her whole body feeling weird and distant from herself. The room was almost blindingly white, austere, and sterile. She was in an equally white bed, dressed in a loose nemaki.

She was in a hospital. The last time she had been in one, it was when Akito and Natsume were born. When her mother died.

Oh no! Where were Akito and Natsume? Ai? Chun Tao? Harume? She pushed back the crisp, stiff sheets of her bed and slid off. Her gait was unsteady as she hurried towards the door, bare feet pattering on cold tile.

The door opened as her fingers touched the knob.

"Hey!"

Jounouchi grabbed her and steered her towards the bed. "Rest. No running away."

Behind him, Otogi came in, carrying a bag of snacks.

Li Hua was forced back under the sheets. "Where-?"

"Your siblings are fine. We just visited them. You're the last one to wake up." Jounouchi pulled the sheets over her and Otogi dumped the snacks in a chair nearby. He took out a bottle of water and offered it to her.

She drank liberally.

"So," Jounouchi pulled up a chair.

Li Hua looked away. It was coming. The questions. She knew they would come up eventually, but she felt like she would burst out crying any moment now. "Which hospital is this?" She looked for a loose thread to pick at, but the sheets were in impeccable condition.

"Kaiba's private hospital. Just as you requested, he didn't file any reports yet." Otogi offered her a second bottle of water, as she had finished off the first one. Her mouth was so dry.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come...come in?" Li Hua called out.

Kaiba opened the door, a stern and imposing figure in a handsome suit of dark blue.

"You're awake." His tone was neutral. If he was concerned or relieved, she couldn't tell.

He turned to Otogi and Jounouchi. "Get out. We're talking."

Jounouchi stood up, eye to eye with Kaiba. "We have things we wanna ask, too. Just because it's your hospital, you-"

Otogi stepped between them. "Jounouchi..."

"You all...probably have the same questions. Who that man was and why I don't want the police involved..." Li Hua squeezed the water bottle in her hand. The plastic crinkled, oddly loud in the following silence.

Kaiba pulled out a chair from the other side of her bed and sat down. "So you're going to tell us?"

Li Hua nodded, pulling her legs up to her chest, looking small and fragile.

"He is my uncle...my late mother's older brother." She fixed her gaze on her blanket. "I know if I file a report, we can get some sort of immunity from him. But if I do that...then..." she stopped.

"You know, in America, nobody wanted to adopt six children together. Most people want young children as well. But even though Harume and Ai were young, they were sick a lot after uncle...it was too much trouble to adopt that kind of child." She continued to avoid anyone's eyes.

"I came to Japan hoping my grandmother would take us all in. But she hated uncle. She hated my dad for leaving my mom. Her bitterness at my mother's death was too strong. So she did not accept any of us. And I couldn't go to an orphanage. I know how the Japanese people feel about adoptions. Even if there are a few people who don't mind what their family register looks like, no normal family has space for six children. Sometimes, to console myself, I tell myself it's what they all want too. I just can't separate us." Li Hua lip wavered.

"I am egoistical too. I tell myself that we can't possibly live apart from each other, because we're the only ones who will understand each other's pains and traumas. Who will sympathize with Ai, who constantly wets the bed from anxiety? Harume hides from strangers and has difficulties being toilet trained. Akito and Natsume have trouble speaking to others."

She looked up at Kaiba. "If I say it like that, it sounds better, doesn't it? But no matter how much I gloss over it, I'm really just selfish, aren't I? If I had called the police, I could have saved my siblings from that man. But I couldn't protect them, they suffered because of me. Just because I did not want us separated. When uncle found us again, he was so furious with us for leaving. I dragged them all into it. If I was stronger, or had more ability to protect them...but I don't, and I'm not strong."

Li Hua cried. Her nose was red, running, and tears flowed from her eyes in a constant stream. It was unsightly, but nobody in the room found her ugly. It was the first time Kaiba had really seen her cry. Even last night, when he had seen her bruised and bleeding, her eyes were dry.

The room was silent except for her wailing.

"You're not selfish."

Otogi and Jounouch stared at Kaiba, almost as if they weren't sure he had just spoken. He ignored them.

"You're not selfish," Kaiba repeated, standing up. Ugh, crying girl. He grabbed a box of tissues from the table next to the bed and held it out to her stiffly. "Here."

Li Hua, as upset as she was, felt a sort of warm feeling in her heart and she almost wanted to smile. She had wondered so many times if Kaiba had thought she was annoying, because she always tried to start a conversation with him. They were inconsistent in length, some actually pretty long, others very short. Most died with mutual silence from both parties. But now she thought that maybe Kaiba wasn't unopposed to friends. Perhaps he was just as troubled as her little brothers when trying to talk to people.

"Thank you," she said, her voice muffled underneath a wad of tissues.

"I know you work really hard," Kaiba said, dropping the tissues back onto the table. "To provide for your siblings. And you sacrifice yourself whenever you can."

Not that she had to know, but he may have directed his drive to take routes that went past her workplaces. He would always see her working, that cheerful mask on even late in the night. And he noticed she had a look in her eyes during physical education, when she was playing volleyball or running. Not just a look of elation, but one that looked like she was truly enjoying what she was doing. Probably the same look he would have in his younger days when he played games. In addition, he had happened to overhear the captain of the volleyball team beg Li Hua to join, and the sadness in her voice when she turned the captain down. There was no doubt in his mind that she would have agreed immediately if she had the time.

In addition, when he had come into her apartment last night, he took note of several things around the place that suggested Li Hua was trying her best to make the cramped space more homey and comfortable. The refrigerator was covered in pictures and notes to each other. Cheerful congratulation notes. A calendar that had days marked as special pudding days, or meat days. Something so simple as meat or pudding cheered children up so easily.

He rather liked the part of her that was trying to keep her siblings together. He didn't find it selfish at all. He had done the same with Mokuba.

Kaiba reached a hand out towards Li Hua. What now? A consoling action...something like this, he guessed, and he pat her on the head.

Li Hua laughed and he retracted his hand, refusing to meet her eyes. "If you were selfish," he began stiffly, "you would have left your siblings alone a long time ago."

"Yeah," Jounouchi said, still stunned that Kaiba had managed to say something...nice. "You know, your siblings are all worried. They think they're a burden on you and were wondering if you would be happier if you didn't have to take care of them."

Li Hua turned sharply. "I...I'm always tired lately. I've been picking up as many shifts as I can. I work a lot of hours, trying to make up for what uncle takes away, and I have to balance it with studying. But I'd never...I'd never think it would be better if I could only think of myself."

"So what are you going to do now?" Otogi asked gently, putting a hand on her back.

"I don't know." Li Hua rest her chin on her knees. "I can't stay here forever if uncle knows where we are. It's going to take me a while to save up anything again. The rent at my apartment is the cheapest I can find, unless I look in another city. But..." she looked up at her classmates, face blushing.

"What's wrong?" Jounouchi asked.

Li Hua held her face in her palms, trying to to hide her cheeks. The warm sensation made her fully aware she was blushing. "Well, I...I would miss you guys if I left Domino."

"Well...of course we'd miss you too," Jounouchi said, crossing his arms over his chest and finding himself unable to look at Li Hua.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Otogi asked.

Li Hua shook her head. "I know uncle won't kill me or my siblings, because he will lose any chance at our inheritance. If we died, the money would all go to charity. I don't know what to..." She rubbed her head, which was throbbing.

"This can be discussed later," Kaiba said, pushing his chair back. "You two get out."

Jounouchi glared.

"It's about time for the doctor to come in for an assessment, and I need to speak with him. So leave."

Jounouchi and Otogi made their way to the door, Jounouchi flipping Kaiba a rude hand gesture before leaving.

The room was silent after they left. Li Hua looked up at Kaiba, who stood facing the door with his arms folded across his chest.

"So, Kaiba-kun, did you miss me during break?" she asked jokingly.

Kaiba spared her a brief glance. "Not really." Only a little. Working at his desk, he half expected her to come up behind him and ask what he was doing.

Li Hua sighed and almost laughed. Well, his blatant reply didn't hurt her. It wasn't like she really expected him to say yes. He walked over to her, leaning in close. "How are you feeling?"

"A little dizzy. Head hurts. My mouth is really dry." She looked up into his face with an unwavering gaze, eyes locked on each other's.

"It's the narcotics. Fractured rib. Internal bleeding. Ulnar fracture. Some burns," he read off her chart at the foot of the bed. He dropped it back in place. "Cigarettes?"

"How is everyone else?"

"You. Can't you worry about yourself more?" He flicked her forehead, slightly irritated.

Li Hua grabbed her forehead and didn't say anything.

Oh no. Was she going to cry again? Fuck. He looked around for the tissues, prepared to cram them in her face and plug up her leaking orifices with the tissues should the need arise.

But she didn't cry.

"Kaiba-kun, I was always worried that you found me bothersome. But you're a nice guy," she said, smiling at him as she took his hand. Her hand was so small compared to his. "I hope we can be good friends."

"Friends?"

"Yes."

"You...my friend."

"You...don't want to?"

"I...I don't really care. It doesn't matter to me." He looked away, but didn't pull his hand back.

Li Hua laughed.

* * *

The room was dark when Li Hua woke up.

She awoke abruptly, gasping, as if awakening from a terrible nightmare in which she had just narrowly escaped her demise. Something had felt off. She could feel it even in her sleep, and it unsettled her, disturbed her so much she couldn't stay asleep.

There was a dim light near the door, and Li Hua surveyed the room. She could make out the shapes of chairs and other room furniture, but no distinguishable silhouettes of people. She was alone.

How long had it been since she had slept alone? All her most recent memories of sleeping were of her, crammed into that single bedroom, sharing a futon with Chun Tao, Ai, and Harume, while the twins shared a futon right next to them, after that wretched man threw them out of the second bedroom. Literally. He had seized their collars and tossed them right out of the room, and she and Chun Tao had just barely caught the boys before having to shield themselves from the barrage of items that inhuman individual was tossing from the room that he had claimed as his own.

She let out a sigh and collapsed back into the pillows of the bed. Now that she looked closer, that dim light near the door was actually the lit screen of a laptop. A really familiar looking laptop. Li Hua pushed back the covers and slipped out of bed. She made her way to the cushy armchair the laptop was on and looked down at the screen.

Li Hua was not a very tech savvy person, considering her low exposure to electronics her whole life, but she could at least recognize a Google search. "How to be a good friend with a female," she mouthed, reading the search results. Really, Kaiba was so cute. Near the door, she heard footsteps approaching and she straightened her body, sidling away from the laptop. It wasn't as if she was trying to be nosy. She had just wanted to see if it was really Kaiba's laptop, and she just happened to read what was on the screen. But from what she knew about Kaiba, it was probably best not to give him any impression that she had seen anything at all.

She rummaged through a bag near her bed, one of the bags of snacks that Jounouchi had brought for her earlier. The door opened, and Li Hua jumped, startled.

"Why are you up?"

Li Hua turned to see Kaiba facing her, closing the door behind him. She smiled at him, though he probably couldn't see it in the dim room. "I was thirsty."

Kaiba lifted a bag that he had been holding in his hands and pulled out a bottle of water. "Here."

Li Hua reached forward, but Kaiba pulled it back. "I'll open it for you."

Li Hua looked down at her cast and smiled to herself. "Thank you, Kaiba-kun."

He handed her the water bottle silently, then turned his back on her, leaving the bag on her bedside table. "Mints and hard candies. The nurse told me they would help with the dry mouth," he said when he was sitting down, laptop in his hands.

"What time is it?" Li Hua asked, trying to peek through the blinds. She could see bright street lights dotting the darkness outside.

"Time for you to sleep."

Li Hua laughed, but stopped when she felt a sharp pain in her side. "What kind of answer is that?" She climbed gingerly into bed. Kaiba looked up at her, studying her.

"I'll call the nurse."

"What? For what? I'm fine."

"Maybe now but the longer you wait for pain medication, the worse it will feel later on." He left the room and came back with one of the nurses a short while later.

It was such a distant feeling, being taken care of. Something she had only known long ago. From early on, it was always her duty to take care of others. It felt weird having the nurse fuss over her, even only for vital signs. And for Kaiba to notice things and be considerate of her, calling the nurse over, getting her water and candies to suck on...strange. Just strange.

Now medicated, she still had to wait for whatever the nurse had given her to work. Neither of them said a word for a good fifteen minutes, the silence between them penetrated periodically by the soft rhythmic taps and clicks of Kaiba's typing.

"Should I leave?" Kaiba asked, looking up. He had felt her gaze on him and couldn't ignore it any longer. He had expected her to succumb to narcotics induced drowsiness.

Li Hua sat up. "No!" Her bottle of water tumbled off the edge of the bed and onto the floor, spilling its contents.

Kaiba blinked, a little surprised. He walked forward to pick up the bottle.

"Er, I mean..." Li Hua tucked back a lock of hair. "Well, I guess if you need to. I bet it's awkward doing your work at a hospital. And you're always so busy." She slid out of bed to pick up the bottle she had knocked onto the floor, grabbing some tissues from her bedside table to absorb the spilled water. Her hand and Kaiba's hand met, touching the bottle at the same time. Li Hua looked up at Kaiba.

"I just don't want to disturb you. It's important for you to get plenty of rest." Kaiba said. His hand was still resting on top of hers.

"You're not..." Li Hua replied, feeling appreciative of the dimness of the room. Her face felt warm. "I just...find it hard to sleep in a room by myself."

"I've been in here for the past fifteen minutes and you haven't fallen asleep."

"Because..." Li Hua broke off eye contact. "Because I'm afraid that I'll fall asleep and you will leave."

Kaiba was silent. "N...not that I want to pressure you into staying here with me. I mean. I don't think I could anyways..." Li Hua trailed off.

And things started to make sense, Kaiba thought to himself. In her drug induced drowsiness, perhaps she hadn't remembered, but when he thought back on the events that had transpired throughout the day, each time he had left the room to take care of something, he had come back to find her awake, either blinking at the ceiling, or staring out the window. And when he returned, it seemed as if a wave of relief washed over her face and she settled back into a deep sleep again.

"Li Hua, I'm here because I chose to be here. If I was going to leave, I could have left many hours ago."

"And...it's not an inconvenience?"

"What are you talking about? Dolt. Idiot. What a stupid question. Of course it is."

"Oh." Li Hua mopped up the rest of the puddle and tossed the wet tissues into a nearby receptacle, along with the now empty water bottle.

"But I...have been here since 11:43 PM of last night. And it was not a decision I have regretted." Good god, what filth was coming out of his mouth? He actually did wish he was at his office or at home. This chair was not the most ergonomic. All the places to eat around the hospital were terrible. He had made a mental note of which restaurants to put out of business when he had the time. But when Li Hua turned around to face him with a smile, he felt an odd sensation in his stomach. A good sensation. It almost made the pitiful excuse for French cuisine next door seem a little less pitiful.

It was after Li Hua had settled back in bed that another silence fell upon them. This time, Li Hua broke the quiet. "Kaiba-kun..."

"What is it?"

"Can you...sit closer...maybe?" The sudden storm of typing ceased. Li Hua turned to her side and pulled the blanket over her face. "Um, nevermind." She felt silly, asking for more when he had already helped her out so much. But she heard Kaiba's footsteps and looked up in time to see his long leg give the armchair a swift kick. The chair slid forward, spinning and stopping about a foot beside the bed. Kaiba followed coolly with long strides, carrying his laptop in his arm. He sat down in the chair and looked at Li Hua, as if to ask,

"Are you satisfied now?"

Li Hua smiled. "Kaiba-kun, I like this suit on you. Navy is a good color on you. You look very handsome."

Kaiba had no expression as he flipped his laptop open. "Go to sleep already."

Li Hua giggled and closed her eyes, drifting off comfortably to a tempest of Kaiba's typing.


	9. Chapter 9

Li Hua insisted that she had felt better, but at everyone's behest, she remained in the hospital to rest a little longer. Her siblings had already recovered and cleared for discharge, but Li Hua was hesitant in going home later than them, afraid that their uncle would come around for another visit. Her friends came to the rescue, offering temporary shelter for her siblings for the week or so Li Hua would remain hospitalized.

Jounouchi had volunteered to take in Ai, claiming he was great with little sisters having had one of his own. Ai, who was normally shy, took to this idea rather well. She and Jounouchi seemed to have bonded despite the age gap and conversed easily about their favorite foods or games.

"I'm worried that she might see his dirty magazines," Anzu had mused, concern contorting her brow. Jounouchi had scoffed. "I just have videos now," he said, but hurriedly reassured Li Hua. "D-don't worry. I'm not like a super pervert. I'll make sure to protect Ai-chan's innocence!"

Li Hua had smiled. "I'm not worried. I know Katsuya-kun is a very kind and caring person. Ai will definitely have a good time with you." Jounouchi had blushed while Li Hua bid farewell to Ai, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek and reminding her to behave and be considerate to Jounouchi.

Anzu had volunteered to keep Chun Tao, voicing her excitement of having a younger sister close to her age whom she could chat with about boys and boy bands, play dress up, have makeovers, and all sorts of girlish things. Honda and Yugi each took in one of the twins. Honda had been muttering something about how glad he was that Akito was much more well-behaved than Johji, whoever he was. Yugi had gotten excited having discovered Natsume shared an interest in games like him. Otogi volunteered to babysit Harume, winking at Li Hua that he was great with babies, for future reference, earning a cuff on the head from Jounouchi. He had reached for Harume, nestled into Li Hua's chest, but Harume shrank away, letting out a cry like a weak kitten.

Li Hua frowned, her heart aching for the little baby. "Sorry, Otogi-kun," Li Hua said as she stroke Harume's cheek softly. "It's sweet of you to offer but Harume is too difficult for you." It was always like this. Harume was a timid baby, easily startled. And each time Harume's father visited, Harume would start fearing dark haired men, or anyone with the slightest similar physical characteristic. Slowly, Li Hua would elicit a wider smile from Harume, but all her efforts would be shattered in seconds from one visit by that man. And with Harume's decrease in appetite after these incidents, it took a steady and persistent persuasion to entice Harume to eat, which so far could only be successfully executed by Chun Tao or herself.

Otogi nodded. "Don't worry. I understand." He reached forward and gently brushed back hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.

* * *

The next day, everyone came to the hospital to visit with Li Hua for a little, but it had been quite boring during the hours beforehand. Li Hua either worked on her winter homework assignments or walked around the hospital with Harume in her unbroken arm. To her surprise, Kaiba visited her that evening, when everyone had left to return home. She had looked up from an overwhelming math problem when she heard the door open after two curt courtesy knocks. Kaiba had strode in with his characteristic imperious aura, followed by two people she assumed were his assistants. The assistants set down some boxes, bowed to Kaiba, and then left.

Li Hua had thought about saying something about letting her have enough time to look decent, but she reasoned that he had already seen her at her worst, swollen, bruised, and bleeding. "Hi, Seto-chan," she greeted playfully. Kaiba halted, and for a split second, Li Hua thought she had seen his eye twitch.

"Are you hungry?" Kaiba asked, making his way over to the boxes the assistants had set down on one of the tables in the room.

"A little."

"Here," Kaiba passed her a box.

Li Hua opened the lid. "Yakiniku bento?"

"Matsuzaka beef. The restaurants around this area are shit," Kaiba replied, a bit scathingly. Well, they wouldn't be shit for long. He had already mobilized efforts to improve the restaurant quality around the hospital. He grabbed a bento for himself and sat in his usual chair by her bed.

Meanwhile, Li Hua was still in shock about the high quality beef in front of her. In all her life, she could only dream of eating such a thing. She glanced at Kaiba, who seemed to be eating it as it was the most natural thing. Well, not surprising. She only just recently learned that Kaiba was the young and talented CEO of KaibaCorp, who was also responsible for the creation of the renowned Solid Vision technology. She had also heard, though she wasn't sure how verifiable the gossip of the nurses at Kaiba's hospital was, that at one point KaibaCorp made at least $1,400,000,000 annually. She felt she had come to know a truly amazing individual.

Li Hua broke off a small bit of the beef with her chopsticks and held it in front of Harume, who was sitting in her lap. "Harume," Li Hua called out in a gentle singing way. "Kono niku wa totemo oishii, Harume-chan," she added gently, telling Harume the meat was very delicious. Harume frowned and turned his head away, hugging her waist with tiny hands.

"How old is Harume?" Kaiba asked, studying the baby's figure. Tiny. He looked to be about 12 months.

"He's 18 months old. Harume's very smart. He knows a lot of words and was even toilet trained just recently. But after uncle...he's reverted back several months." Harume used to love naming the produce she was cutting up in the kitchen, or point to objects around the house and tell her what color they were, but recently, his communication had been reduced to babbles and coos.

Kaiba grit his teeth as he watched Li Hua bring a piece of meat to Harume's mouth, this time with success. Li Hua cheered and clapped, and Harume gave a small smile. Watching the scene gave him a familiar sort of feeling. He was faintly reminded of his late mother. He could swear there had been a similar scene in his memory, his mother feeding Mokuba as he watched nearby. It made him angry to think that there was such ugly violence committed against someone so young and tiny and helpless. If anyone had ever dared to treat Mokuba like that when they were younger...

"Oh my gosh, Kaiba-kun, this tastes so good!" Li Hua marveled, chopsticks in her mouth. So she finally ate some herself, Kaiba thought to himself. He held no doubt that if there was ever a shortage of rations at her house, Li Hua would surely starve herself to ensure larger portions for her siblings.

"Harume, come eat some more," Li Hua purred, and gave the baby some rice this time. "Isn't it yummy? So yummy," she continued in a baby voice, that Kaiba found surprisingly not as annoying as he normally would.

About an hour later, he stood up. "I need to get back to the office. I have a lot of things I need to prepare." He didn't need to stick around any longer anyways. Li Hua would have Harume to sleep with, so she would be fine at night.

"Oh, okay. Thanks so much for coming to visit me! I really enjoyed your company. Say good bye to Kaiba onii-chan, Harume!" Li Hua waved Harume's hand at Kaiba and smiled at him. Oddly, Kaiba felt sort of warm seeing her smile. Maybe he was working too much lately.

* * *

The next day had the same routine. In the afternoon, Otogi, Honda, Anzu, Jounouchi, Yugi, and her siblings came over to visit. Chun Tao was cuddling with Harume while Ai sat in Li Hua's lap, currently in the midst of regaling her with her first night of fun with Katsuya onii-chan.

"Onii-chan made curry for dinner! With lots of carrots! Yum! And we watched Totoro while eating! It was so fun! I love Katsuya onii-chan!" Ai cheered. Li Hua and Ai both smiled at Jounouchi, who felt like he was going to melt from the angelic beams.

"Thanks so much, Katsuya onii-chan," Li Hua said, touching Jounouchi's hand appreciatively. "How have you all been doing?"

Anzu gasped. "Chun Tao is such a good cook! She made dinner last night and I think it was the most delicious dinner I've ever had! I might keep her longer so I can eat more of her cooking!" Chun Tao blushed as she fed Harume a bottle of juice.

Honda clasped his hands together. "Your brother's an angel compared to my nephew! He's so polite and thoughtful and pure!" Li Hua wondered what sort of child Honda's nephew was.

Yugi also voiced praise for the sibling he was staying with. "He's a real help around the store ever since Jii-chan's back got sprained again. We've gotten a lot of high school girls come and visit whenever he's at the front though. Weird." Yugi placed a finger to his lip thoughtfully.

"Thanks so much again, all of you," Li Hua sat up in bed. "I will definitely repay you guys somehow."

Anzu pushed her back down in bed. "Don't say it like that. We're friends. We didn't do this because we wanted you to pay us back!"

"Yeah! Hurry up and rest!" Jounouchi called out.

"When you're all better, let's all play a game together again!" Yugi smiled.

Li Hua couldn't stop her tears, even as Ai pat her head worriedly, asking, "What's wrong onee-chan? Are you hurting still?"

* * *

Kaiba had come to visit again, after her siblings and everyone had left. He brought sushi this time, dropping the box in her lap. Li Hua meant to refuse, not wanting to such a mooch off of him, but he gave her such an intense look that she felt pressured to eat and almost too intimidated to refuse.

"I like your suit today," Li Hua smiled, picking up some ootoro. "Gray and navy looked good, but black is definitely the best so far."

Kaiba thought it odd how Li Hua was able to say such embarrassing and grossly pleasant things so unabashedly. She complimented almost everyone. It was as if she could see good things in everyone she talked to. It gave him a strange sort of sensation to hear a constant stream of positive things from her about him. For one thing, it was sort of expected that she would have good things to say about him. He was Seto Kaiba, after all. But as awesome as he was, people didn't just compliment him as if it was normal. In the cutthroat business world, compliments weren't worded as pleasantly or clearly. Sometimes they weren't really compliments either. He would hear the other party remark, "Well, Kaiba, you certainly are young to have such a successful company." This had a plethora of meanings, ranging from "He's young and talented but I'm sure as hell not saying that to his face," to, "You're young so you're probably going to fuck things up sooner or later." Li Hua told him something...what was the word? Nice. She told him something nice every time she saw him. She'd tell him he looked handsome today, or she'd tell him he was talented after he told her about a new piece of technology he had created, and so on.

He decided to try something he learned from his internet research. "Thanks," he replied. "You...you look nice and clean today."

Li Hua started coughing violently. "Are you alright?" Kaiba asked. He passed her some tea. Li Hua's shoulders were shaking.

"J-just choked...choked on the roe," Li Hua said. Oh. My. God. Kaiba just thanked her. It was so unexpected. And he had tried to give her back a compliment. Yesterday she had told him he looked handsome with a blue tie and he had responded by asking if she had finished eating yet. This was just too cute. It took so much effort to suppress her laughter. Nice. And clean. She wanted to reply but she was afraid that she would not be able to say anything comprehensible for a while.

Seeing her shaking shoulders, Kaiba felt a little irritated and decided he needed a little more research before he tried that again.

* * *

"How's work?" Li Hua asked Kaiba, idly rocking Harume in a bassinet that Kaiba had gotten some nurses to bring in.

Li Hua still had two more days before Kaiba would even consider granting his consent for her to leave the hospital. It was winter vacation, so there was no school, but five days without working, cooking, cleaning, or anything except resting had felt so odd. It was starting to leave her restless. She finished her homework easily enough using her textbook as reference, which left a giant block of time for her to ponder what she could do.

"Mediocre," Kaiba replied simply, clicking through data reports on his laptop rather languidly. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, you know, so I think I'm ready to get discharged. I just don't want to impose too much longer on everyone's hos..."

Kaiba looked up, alarmed. Something gave him a bad feeling.

Li Hua had ducked her head away from him, her good arm clutching at her face. Kaiba jumped up from his seat, his laptop sliding off his lap and crashing to the ground. "Li Hua!" One hand grabbed her shoulder and his other hand tilted her face towards him. She was clutching her nose, but there was thick, dark blood all over her lips and chin, and even some dripping onto her front. The blood on her shirt spread like a flower opening its petals. Kaiba slammed the call button, his grip on her shoulder tightening.

"Kaiba! Ish...ish jush a dosebleed..." Li Hua coughed and coughed out a mouthful of blood. She could taste the strong metallic tinge in the back of her throat and tilted her head forward. "Gud you get be a tissue please?"

A nurse rushed in just as Kaiba crammed a tissue to Li Hua's nose. "What's wrong, Kaiba-sama?" she asked.

"I'm fine! Ish a dosebleed!" Li Hua told the nurse. "Ish brobably jush allergies. Gud I get adother gown blease?" Li Hua asked, pinching her nose.

The nurse left the room and Kaiba sank into his chair.

"Kaiba! Your sleeve!" Li Hua gasped, sliding out of bed and grabbing at the bloodstained sleeve of his light gray suit.

Kaiba waved it off. "Forget it. This is just a 230,000 yen suit. I'll buy another one." He rest his face in his palm. Jeez. What a scary amount of blood. And why had he reacted like that, so urgently, over a simple nosebleed? Fuck. He supposed...that he rather liked Li Hua. He did come to enjoy these visits. And by enjoy he meant that it didn't feel like he was being forced to see her and that he found he chose to do so out of his own volition. It felt it a nice break once in a while from the dreary mind numbing work he had lately. Lately he had been looking forward to her expressions when she ate the dinner he brought. Certainly if he was posed with the choice of having to save either Mokuba or Li Hua from a life or death situation where only one could be saved, he'd definitely save Mokuba without a second thought. But if it was Li Hua and say, one of his office assistants, he felt himself leaning more towards Li Hua. How strange, this feeling. This feeling of being fond of an individual who wasn't related to you. A friend. It was actually quite pleasant, Kaiba was surprised to find himself thinking.

* * *

After bidding Li Hua farewell and leaving her room, the nurse from earlier and a doctor approached him.

"Kaiba-sama...the thing is...Li Hua has been having nosebleeds all week. I've inspected her nasal tissue and it's definitely not from allergies. Also, she's been having fevers at night, and I've found bruising on her body that doesn't match bruising she would have gotten from the physical abuse by her uncle," the nurse said.

"We want to do some tests...blood tests, MRI, you know, since she is Kaiba-sama's esteemed companion. But she doesn't have any insurance..." the doctor added.

Kaiba glanced back at the closed door behind him. "Do whatever you need to do," he said in a low voice and hardened expression. "Send me a copy of all tests done. Charge the bill for all of them to me."

The doctor and nurse nodded and wished him a good evening.

Kaiba felt as if a pit in his stomach was growing larger and sucking at his insides. He pondered about the feeling. Was it worry? So very different from the warmth he had been feeling earlier with the idle chatting. So a bad part about having a friend was when you had something about her to worry about. What a bad feeling it was, he thought to himself.


	10. Chapter 10

"What the hell are those supposed to be?" Kaiba offhandedly pointed at a plate of apple quarters. The peels were curved up halfway and they resembled a rabbit.

"They're apple bunnies!" Li Hua held one up and made it hop in the air.

"Well, I can see that. But is there any reason to cut them that way?"

"Not really," Li Hua replied. "They just look cute. Mokuba thought they were cute when he came over earlier."

"Hnn." Kaiba folded his arms, turning his head away when Li Hua brought one of the apple rodents close to his face. Li Hua desisted and ate the apple herself, letting out a sound of enjoyment as she bit down the crunchy, sweet flesh. Any further teasing and Kaiba would probably unleash a burst stream of rage on her.

Kaiba turned his head back to her. "Why didn't you say anything about your nosebleeds and fevers?"

Li Hua looked away, purposefully not meeting Kaiba's eyes. "I figured you knew something, when the nurse came in to talk to me about an MRI. I told them I didn't have any insurance and they said everything was taken care of."

"Don't tell me you refused."

"Kaiba-kun, I can't just keep depending on your kindness like this! I feel awful!"

"Do you think I'm unreliable? So you don't want to depend on me?"

"No, it's not that! Not at all! I could never think you were unreliable after all you've done for me. I'm really grateful. Extremely grateful. Even if I got down on my knees and bowed to you to show my thanks I wouldn't get up for days. I just...I just don't want to have to depend on you so much."

"So you don't want my help. Because you don't want to grovel to me." Kaiba raised an eyebrow. He felt an odd tightening sensation in his chest. He was unsure what to attribute it to. He recalled the other day, when he had overheard Anzu saying something to Li Hua. "We're friends. We didn't do this because we want you to pay us back!" He wanted to tell Li Hua that he wasn't do all this because he wanted to hear her thank him. Well, it would be pleasant to hear, he supposed, but the point was that he wasn't fishing for her eternal gratitude to him.

"N-no, that's not it...I..." Li Hua's lip quivered. She felt her nose getting runny, but when she touched it to the back of her hand, she found blood when she pulled down her hand.

"This is inane," Kaiba said coolly, standing up at once. He flung open the door, the knob slamming into the wall, and strode out. Li Hua watched in stunned silence, wondering if she should run after him, but Kaiba came back with some nurses. "Scan her. Now. MRI. CT. Blood tests. Whatever."

"W-what? Kaiba-kun! What are you doing?" Li Hua struggled in the grasps of the nurses, but found it difficult outnumbered.

"Stop being so childish. Think about it. If there's something wrong with you, then you should find out now instead of having it become a serious problem later on. You'll just be a burden to your siblings and everyone else if that happens," Kaiba spat out icily. Li Hua stopped struggling, her face looking shocked and eyes glistening. Damn, he supposed he had hurt her feelings. He did read through his Google searches that girls were more sensitive than guys, so it would be wise to watch his mouth. But after all the things he had already said, Li Hua hadn't seemed to be as sensitive as other girls he had met. She hadn't been perturbed by him like other females had been. He got the feeling that she sort of just understood that was the way he was, and accepted his blunt words. He rubbed his temple._ I want you to get the scan because I want to know that you're alright, because if you were going to die, I feel like it would affect my mood in a slightly negative way._ He had tried to piece together what he really felt in the least embarrassing way, but somehow it had come out differently. If only this friendship thing was as easy and predictable as dueling.

Li Hua had gone slack in the hands of the nurses, who were holding her up. Burden? Did Kaiba think she was being a burden? She felt so frustrated. If only she was stronger, she wouldn't be in this situation. More able. More independent. Less fragile. She felt disgusted with herself. Wait. She thought back to what he had said. She would be a burden if she didn't get the MRI? Is that what he had been saying? So did that mean she wasn't a burden right now? That didn't seem likely... How could it? She was staying in his hospital, and he was taking off time from work everyday because of her. Unless...Kaiba really did think of her as a friend? And he was visiting because he wanted to? Now that she thought about it, it did seem like a usual Kaiba-like statement. Kaiba was actually kinder than most people thought, but not very adept at showing it. Or maybe unwilling to show it. When Mokuba had visited, he told her all about Kaiba's plan to build amusement parks around the world, with free admission to orphans. How could anyone say that he wasn't a kind person? It was just that...he came off strong. She looked up when she heard Kaiba suck in a deep breath.

"Li Hua, I...really...insist...that..." he seemed to be struggling.

"Kaiba-kun, you're right. I was being childish." Li Hua turned to the nurses. "Could you please bring all the consent forms from yesterday? I'll sign them all now."

The nurses left the room, leaving Li Hua alone with Kaiba and Harume, who had been sleeping the whole time. He really was a good baby. Li Hua walked up to Kaiba, feeling a bit inadequate standing in front of him in a plain hospital gown while he was august in his tailored pinstriped suit. "I'm sorry for fussing earlier. It was stupid. I just don't want to be a burden on you. You have so many things to take care of already. You have a whole company to run, after all."

"You're just an insignificant little girl that has no need to worry about my business. I'm a genius. There's no way someone like you could put a dent in my schedule. The only thing you put a dent in is my car."

Li Hua laughed. She took this to mean that Kaiba, in his own way, was telling her not to worry, that she wasn't a burden. After a week of bonding with him through hospital visits, she felt that she had gotten a little better at interpreting Kaiba's sentences. "Kaiba-kun," Li Hua said, grabbing his hands. "When I leave the hospital, I'll start working again and I'll definitely pay back the hospital fees. So please wait!"

"It's just an insignificant amount. I don't need such a petty payment from you. The amount I earn in a day is at least 10 times the amount of the bill."

"Er...I see..." She looked down, unsure of how to respond. She heard Kaiba mumble something and her head snapped back up. "Sorry, Kaiba-kun. I didn't hear...could you please say it again?"

Kaiba glared at her.

"Please, Setocchi?" She received a sharper glare.

"I said...the payment I want from you is...don't die."

"Okay," Li Hua smiled. She felt indescribably happy right now.

"And _never_ call me Setocchi again."

"Hahahahaha!"

* * *

It was two evenings later when Kaiba was working at his desk that he received a phone call. "What?" he had asked, picking up the phone with one hand without ever looking away from his screen. His secretary relayed to him that the hospital was calling, looking for him, and patched the call through.

"Kaiba Seto-sama...the thing is..."

"Hurry and say it."

"Well, regarding Miss Li Hua...based on scans, CBC, and other tests, we have some ideas of what is wrong, but we wanted to ask your consent for another test to make sure. Well, of course, Miss Li Hua has to consent to it as well..."

"What is it?"

"We need to do a bone marrow biopsy. We're asking because it has a chance of being quite painful, and as her esteemed companion, perhaps you could reassure her to make the consent move along smoother."

"You think she has..."

"Yes...it's possible that she may leukemia."

Leukemia. Kaiba felt like he had been dropped in a tub of ice. His chest felt tight. No. Calm down. This wasn't any reason to get flustered. Go away, disgusting emotions. Come back, rationality.

Leukemia...it was treatable. The important thing was whether or not Li Hua would accept the treatment. Yes. Of course. She wasn't going to leave all her siblings behind, right? Kaiba suddenly stood up, palms slapping his desk. His chair rolled out violently from underneath him.

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba's voice cut through his thoughts. Kaiba looked up. Mokuba had come into his office, holding a tray with a teapot, two cups, and some rice crackers. "I brought you some tea. Are you going to eat dinner? It's rare that you work at your home office. What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"It's nothing." He reached out his hand, and Mokuba went bounding forward with a cup of tea for his beloved brother.

* * *

"Bone biospy? That sounds awful," Li Hua commented, sipping tea. "I need that?" she asked, looking at Kaiba, who was sitting in a chair about a foot away from her. He had brought a new one in, complaining about ergonomics or something. She supposed it was comfortable for him. His surly expression looked slightly less surly as he sat there, reading something on his laptop. That or something good happened regarding his company.

"Bone marrow biopsy," Kaiba said nonchalantly, with a straight face that would make any poker player envious. "And yes."

"Okay. By the way, I think this is my favorite suit of yours so far." It was a white suit that she had seen him wear one other time, and she rather liked the cut. "But when you wear it with a white shirt, it makes you look like an angel. An angel of death. You should wear the blue shirt again."

Kaiba waved her comment away impatiently, though a little bit unnerved by her mention of an angel of death. "So the nurse is going to bring in the consent form, and you'll sign it?"

"Yes," Li Hua nodded. "Only if you hold my hand though. I'll be so scared," she joked as she blew on a spoonful of miso soup. Kaiba was silent. She looked over, hoping to catch a glimpse of him rolling his eyes exasperatedly. Instead, she found him looking contemplative.

"Well," Kaiba started. He may have felt just a little bitty teeny weeny bit guilty. No. No he didn't! The biopsy really was necessary! Necessary to confirm. He wasn't pushing it on her just to scare her. And if they did get a result, she could start treatment. This was all for her own good. More confident, he folded his arms and gave her his signature derisive, "Hnn."

"Just joking, Kaiba-kun. We have to find humor in life wherever we can."

"I don't see what's so humorous about this serious situation."

"Serious? Aren't I just having too many nosebleeds? Am I going to die from that?"

Kaiba's hand twitched. He remained silent. Though a clear violation of rights, Kaiba had expressly warned the hospital staff from letting Li Hua know "too much". He didn't think it necessary to say anything about the possibility of leukemia until it was confirmed that she had it.

"Honestly though, I am a bit scared," Li Hua broke the long silence. She steepled her hands under her chin. "Maybe I'm worrying too much. This all might not even be a big deal. But...if there's a chance that...that I...depart from this world...my siblings wouldn't have anyone to protect them...when I think about that, I feel so...s..." she fell silent, and Kaiba saw that she was biting her lip, trying to hold back tears.

"I'm s-sorry," Li Hua said in a strained voice, talking over Kaiba's steadfast typing. "I don't mean to c-cry so much." She buried her face in her hands, hoping Kaiba didn't feel awkward that she was crying over a hypothetical situation. She felt so silly, but she couldn't stop the flow of tears.

Suddenly, she felt a warmth envelop her. Li Hua raised her head to look over her hands and saw that Kaiba was embracing her. Rather awkwardly. He had his right arm around her back and his hand on her head, while his face was turned resolutely opposite from hers, very intent on not meeting her eyes. His left hand hung down at his side. He raised it up to pat her head a few times, but it was weird, so he let his hand drop again. His chest was pressed to her face, so she could feel the softness of his suit against her cheek. There was a faint smell of soap and cologne.

_Whaaaaat the fuck am i doing?_ Kaiba thought to himself. He, who had always thought of friendship as useless, was doing something unthinkable. Friendship. It was that thing that Yugi and Anzu and the rest always preached to him about, saying that through the strength of friendship, they could claim victory. His own belief was that there was no power in friendship, and would even be a burden in a duel. He would grasp victories through his own power, not rely on someone else's power. But since his first meeting with Li Hua, his views on friendship had slowly changed. It was still useless, yes, but he didn't feel as aversive to them. And perhaps it was even changing him. Mokuba had made comments, saying strange things like how he felt Kaiba seemed gentler lately, such as being less curt with the KaibaCorp staff. Even HR had commented that only 4 people had quit and ran away in tears from being yelled at by Kaiba this month, a rather significant decrease from before. And Kaiba himself...felt...maybe...happier? Maybe less stressed? Just a little. He wasn't one to voice anything about his business at all, especially to an outsider, but Li Hua had a knack for figuring out people's feelings and whatnot. When he had botched a deal, as magnificent as he was, he relayed verbatim the scenario to Li Hua, who was able to point out what went wrong and how he could repair the damage as efficiently as possible. At first, her suggestion was too soft and sentimental for his liking. His style was to brutally crush all, but one company proved to be rather stubborn and stood unwavering to his tactics. Frustrated with the time and money wasted, he carried out Li Hua's suggestion as a last attempt and was able to seal the contract in the same day. With several more test attempts, he discovered that with his pride as a trade off, he saved more time following her advice than using his cutthroat methods. There was definitely a struggle for him after realizing this.

It clashed strongly with his belief of not relying on others for power and instead, relying on his own strength, something he preached to Yugi in almost every duel. But, he wasn't in a dueling setting anymore. He had locked away his cards in a vault so that he could focus solely on work. Accepting her advice wasn't any different than him getting a business consultation.

In the end, there wasn't any real reason for him to reject any friendships, useless or not, other than the reason that he wasn't interested. But he was interested. He was drawn to her, to her persistence and steadfast resolve in protecting her siblings, a strong will not unequal to his own. She was interesting. With a lucky streak when it came to picking stocks to buy. On a whim, having some extra cash, he had asked her which stocks he should buy. Disregarding all the background information he gave her, she picked ones that "just felt right". Each of the five times he had asked her so far, she had garnered him a profit of at least 550,000,000 yen. She also reminded him a little of Mokuba...juuuuust a little. It was the attempts to keep cheerful, the loyalty to her siblings, her attempts to get him to laugh, and the unduly praise. It wasn't excessive as Mokuba, but no one else complimented him so much. Well, there was that one girl, Vivian Wong...but her compliments quickly turned physical...in areas he was not comfortable having her be physical with...

He supposed that they were both changing, after having gotten to know each other. He remembered how proud she had seemed when he first met, when he gave her sister money for ohagi. How secretive she had become, how fragile she seemed to be getting, and how unwilling she was to confide in any of her friends.

"Um..." Kaiba crammed a tissue roughly into Li Hua's face with his left hand. It was enough to get up and give her a fucking hug, he sure as hell wasn't going to be saying any of those disgustingly sentimental words too. Ugh, he couldn't do it. Maybe in a few years. He already was kissing up to people in the corporate world with kindly words under Li Hua's advice. There was a lot more profit to be gained from them than there was to be gained from Li Hua. Or was there? Wasn't Li Hua's happiness worth anything to him? Isn't that what he was standing here with an arm around her for? Thankfully, Li Hua kept silent, somehow sensing that Kaiba was already pushing the limits of his comfort zone and facing some internal struggle. Yeah, she was a smart girl. Her tact was what had been helping him seal deals.

"Kaiba-kun..."

"What."

"The nurses said they'd be coming in about a quarter til with the consent forms..." She pointed at the clock, which was dangerously close to a quarter til. Kaiba retracted his arm speedily, thankful again that Li Hua was smart enough to give him a warning. He quickly closed a tab on his laptop.

If anyone fearless of a horrifying death had looked at what was in Kaiba's browser history, they would have seen a Google search result for "how to comfort a crying friend".

* * *

It would take about a week for results to come back from the biopsy.

During that week, Li Hua had already been discharged from the hospital and moved back home, thanking all her friends over and over again. There was a tearful farewell between Jounouchi and Ai, which ended in Jounouchi promising to visit Ai a lot and inviting her to come sleepover at his house whenever she wanted.

Kaiba really would have preferred Li Hua staying in the hospital, where there was fast access to medical personnel, but Li Hua had pleaded with him that it was almost Christmas and she needed to work while she could to save up money for a cake and presents. Nonsense, he had spat out at her, and imperiously offered to buy 100 cakes if she would just shut up about Christmas, but Li Hua had refused. She said there was no meaning in enjoying a cake with her siblings if she hadn't done anything to earn it. He supposed that made sense, but still...some stubborn little girl was getting 100 fucking Christmas cakes delivered to her fucking doorstep on Christmas, just to quell his annoyance.

Since she insisted on returning home, Kaiba had sent guards to patrol and watch the area for Li Hua's uncle, unbeknownst to her. No way in _hell_ was he going to let there even be a 0.0001% chance of the incident repeating itself.

Finally, it was the last evening of the one week time limit the hospital had given him. Kaiba was at his home office when he received the call from the hospital.

"What?" Kaiba said brusquely.

"Kaiba-sama..." the voice on the line was somber, and Kaiba felt as if he had fallen into a deep pit.

"What...what did you find?"

"We're so sorry...we've triple checked the results and we've had multiple consultations. But...it's leukemia."

"When can you start her treatment?" It was more like a demand than a question. Kaiba rubbed his forehead. Li Hua didn't have a phone, so all the information had been relayed to Kaiba through his phone. So he was going to have to call Li Hua and tell her the news...

"We need to start as soon as possible. The cancer is already fairly far along."

"...Alright." Kaiba hung up and sat for a good minute, steepling his hands under his chin. _Fuck_.

* * *

_Yes, I know I'm totally wrecking patient confidentiality. :(_

_Thanks for reviews 3_


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